Coward’s Volcano transfers to Vaudeville with Seagrove, 16 Aug

Produced by Thelma Holt and Bill Kenwright, the production stars Jenny Seagrove as a widow who finds herself being wooed by a suave and charismatic visitor to her elegant Pacific island house on the side of a volcano.

Written in 1956 during Coward’s self-exile in Jamaica, the play was originally envisioned for Katharine Hepburn but was never performed in the author’s lifetime.

Inspired by an affair between Coward’s friend Ian Fleming (author of the Bond novels) and a plantation-owning society beauty, it gives a “fascinating insight into the decadent, scandal-ridden lifestyle” that Coward and his fellow ex-pats enjoyed.

The new production is directed by Roy Marsden, who also directed Jenny Seagrove in A Daughter’s a Daughter at Trafalgar Studios.

Seagrove’s other recent credits include Rufus Norris’ West End production of Clifford Odets’ The Country Girl and Peter Hall’s revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce. She starred as Emma Harte in the Emmy nominated series A Woman of Substance and is also well-known for her many television roles, most notably QC Jo Mills in the BBC series Judge John Deed.

She’s joined in the cast by Dawn Steele, Jason Durr, Finty Williams, Perdita Avery, Tim Daish and Robin Sebastian.

Currently at the Vaudeville, Joe Orton’s What the Butler Saw starring Omid Djalili, Tim McInnerny and Samantha Bond, continues until 28 July.