The Marquise

The Marquise is a romantic comedy play by Noël Coward, written as a vehicle for Marie Tempest, who starred in the original 1927 production in London.Among later players of the central role have been Lillian Gish, Celia Johnson, Moira Lister, Diana Rigg and Kate O'Mara.By 1926 Coward had written more than a dozen plays, two of them – The Vortex and Hay Fever – were big box-office successes, and he was in demand as a playwright.He had promised Marie Tempest to write a comedy for her, and completed The Marquise while recuperating from a breakdown in his health, brought on by overwork.Count Raoul de Vriaac, once something of a rake, but now a solemn and reformed character, is giving a dinner to celebrate the betrothal of his daughter Adrienne to Miguel, the son of Esteban, Duke of Santaguano.[4] Esteban thinks his old friend has become overserious, and his own advice to the couple is, "Enjoy yourselves as much as possible; it will pass the time pleasantly and lead you into old age with a few gay memories to cheer you".Under the influence of his late wife and her confessor, Raoul has settled down into respectable dullness, and he is uncomfortable when Esteban reminisces about their misspent youth.Her father sharply orders her to go back to bed; she refuses, saying firmly that she wants to talk to him: she will not marry Miguel because she loves Jacques Rijar.As she sobs the front door bell clangs, and the servant Hubert ushers in "Madame la Marquise de Kestournel".She greets Raoul formally as though a stranger, explaining that her coach has lost a wheel and she is obliged to ask hospitality for the night.As Jacques comes downstairs, dressed for travelling and carrying a large bag, Eloise stops him, tells him to stay, and promises that she will find him work and help him win Adrienne.She sends for Father Clement, and at pistol point forces him to marry Adrienne to Jacques; Raoul furiously bangs in vain at the locked door.This leads to a duel; Raoul sends Hubert to fetch a rapier, the furniture is pushed back, and Esteban draws his sword.[14] In The Manchester Guardian, Ivor Brown thought the play a "dried and brittle little piece", made successful chiefly by Marie Tempest's "genius".He had not been able to attend rehearsals and saw the piece for the first time on the second night of the run; he later wrote: In the US in the 1940s Lillian Gish played Eloise in an out-of-town production, which she wanted to bring into New York, but was prevented from doing so by a veto from Coward, for reasons that are not recorded.[20] Mabel Albertson played Eloise opposite George Reeves as Raoul in the 1946 Playbox production in Pasadena, California.[23] The BBC transmitted a radio adaptation the following year, with Moira Lister as Eloise, Peter Pratt as Raoul and Richard Hurndall as Esteban.[24] A television adaptation was broadcast in 1980, with Diana Rigg as Eloise, Richard Johnson as Raoul, James Villiers as Esteban and Daniel Chatto as Miguel.