Coward Gala Tops Year-long Celebrations

The gala topping off a year of events in celebration of the centenary of playwright Noël Coward's birth has now been confirmed. Noël Coward - The Centenary Celebration will take place for one night only at the West End's Savoy Theatre on 12 December 1999, just four days before the author's birthday.

The star-studded event will feature Alan Bates, Simon Russell Beale, Simon Callow, Charles Dance, Lucy Fleming, Edward Fox, Stephen Fry, Nigel Havers, Derek Jacobi, John Mills, Greta Scacchi, Donald Sinden, Imogen Stubbs and James Wilby. Richard Attenborough will introduce the show which will include extracts from the plays, poems and diaries of Coward. The event will be directed in collaboration by Trevor Nunn, Christopher Morahan, Maria Aitken, Patrick Garland, Kit Thacker and Hugh Woodridge.

Tickets for the night range from £15 to £125, with the top price seats including a VIP pre-show reception and an after show dinner. All proceeds will be donated to the Noël Coward Scholarship Fund, a new charity set up for students applying to drama schools.

Born in 1899, Noël Coward was one of the most successful British playwrights of all time, writing more than 60 plays during his prolific career. His comedy-of-manners classics include Private Lives, Hay Fever, Easy Virtue, Blithe Spirit and Present Laughter. He was knighted in 1970 and died in 1973.

The gala event is the highlight in a year-long centenary celebration which has seen five Coward revivals in the West End, numerous regional productions and a variety of films, books, concerts, seminars, amateur productions and other events. For more information on the gala celebration, phone +44-171-369-1781.

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