Noel and Gertie - nostalgia for nostalgia's sake

★★★

Noel and Gertie, Sheridan Morley's biographical piece about the relationship between the world-class playwright and actress, wants drama, scandal, and showbiz, but doesn't quite dare.

Noel and Gertie in Southampton, provided uncredited

In an alternate universe, Noel and Gertie could have been titled Keeping up with Noel and Gertie. There are affairs, bankruptcy, and divorce. Addressing the audience - mostly chasing nostalgia - with tales of early friendships in Liverpool and backstage bickering like talking heads sat atop pianos, they take swipe at one another before smiling sweetly. It's clear their relationship (friendship seems too small a word, on reflection) can be summarised with the famous quote: It's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.

Under Thom Southerland's direction, the two maneuver two black pianos, played throughout by live instrumentalists on the otherwise bare set. The instruments became, although clunkily, train station platforms and other locations synonymous with Coward's works. The issue is, unless an aficionado, you'd struggle to place them. Scenes from his impressive repertoire are interspersed with those exclusive to Noel and Gertie, and it's purposely difficult to differentiate which are fiction or not.

It may be a stroke of genius from the director, a nod to how deep the pair go, and how Coward's writing for his muse was so perfect. However, Mark Dymock's lighting has some lovely moments, shining gold around the stage's Art Deco framing and casting silhouettes on the bold blue curtain, while Niamh Gaffney's sound design of archived conversations through the gramophone could have been used to define the two. Without that, it is impossible to tell the artists from the art, more so when Coward's personal life feels shied away from, unexplored - he's only revealed relaxed in his signature dressing gown in the very last scene. A shame when the programme notes from Southerland suggest otherwise.

As the central duo, Gary Tushaw and Rebecca Trehearn absolutely shine. They're the embodiment of theatrical glamour, smoking cigarettes and shooting the breeze in New York and London. It's a theatrical masterclass of charm and craft, to which they're obviously devoted. Accompanying them are Joey Hickman (also musical director) and Michaela Murphy, who do a beautiful job of bringing Coward's most loved compositions to life. Uplifting.

All in all, Noel and Gertie is just fine. It's a well-played homage to two theatre giants that does nothing to invite new audiences in, but perhaps that's exactly its aim.