For me the best part of the FET show this evening was just being
there. After missing the whole of the 2018
programme with illness, being among so many friendly faces in the lovely
little Colombier Theatre in Les Cabannes was a welcome reminder of how privileged
we are to have this piece of our culture here.
But this is not to belittle the performances of Simon Green and his pianist David Shrubsole. Presenting the musical works of Noel Coward,
interspersed with extracts from his diaries, reminded us of just how talented
Coward was. Tender love songs, nostalgic ballads, acidic commentaries on contemporary
life; all were there. The cynicism often made Coward’s songs unpopular, but the
intricate lyrics reminded me of some modern rap performers.
One person I spoke to said “London Pride” moved her to tears
as it was what her mother sang to her during the blitz. “20th
Century Blues” is as relevant in the 21st century as it was then.
And Coward’s words to Cole Porter’s “Let’s fall in love” were as witty and
relevant to 60’s England as the originals were to the 20’s jazz age. I missed my
personal favourite “Poor Little Rich Girl”, but we all have favourite Coward songs.
The title “Coward at Christmas” rather belied the content of
the show, it being Coward, but Christmas only because we are in December. Simon Green presented the songs with compassion, but lacked the elegant wit of
Coward himself (but who has it?) and David Shrubsole’s sympathetic
accompaniment added greatly to our evening.
But finally, I loved being at Le Colombier again and am
looking forward to renewing my membership for 2019.
