"The lifestyle presented in Hay Fever, Design for Living, Private Lives and Blithe Spirit is somewhat more acceptable now than it was in Coward's day, but the plays can never be either controversial or dated. Coward emphasized entertainment, not message, and the principal appeal of these scintillating comedies arises from their bantering dialogue (with just a touch of malice and cynicism) and their amusing situations (with just a touch of sexual spice). The artificiality of both is part of their charm. The carefully wrought machine runs on jewels of wit, and charming little figures parade before us at the appropriate times with striking effect. That it also indicates The Times is almost incidental, but useful."
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Original Language: English
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Sources
Leonard R. N. Ashley, 'Coward, Noël', in James Vinson (ed.), Great Writers of the English Language: Dramatists (1979), p. 139
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/No%C3%ABl_Coward
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Noël Coward
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