DORCHESTER Drama will be bringing a touch of 1930s style and sophistication to Dorchester Corn Exchange in November with their production of Noel Coward’s Present Laughter.

Performances will be on November 15, 16 and 17 at 7.30pm with a matinee on November 17 at 2pm.

Written in 1939, this is one of Coward’s funniest and most delightful comedies. It sparkles with his brilliant wit and panache, revelling in the frolics and follies of ageing lead-actor Gary Essendine,as his professional and private lives spiral out of control.

At the top of his game, thoroughly charming and totally self-obsessed, Gary lives his life as though it were one grand performance. He is also in the throes of a mid-life crisis. While preparing to take his latest hit production on a tour of Africa and coming to terms with a receding hair-line, he indulges in casual affairs and then attempts frantically, but suavely, to disentangle himself from the consequences. Will his close-knit but semi-disfunctional support group of secretary, housekeeper, manservant, ex-wife and close friends be able to save him from the adoring, predatory or crazed fans who besiege him, or will they be throwing fuel on the fire?

Director Anne Brown is a great fan of the play.

She said: "It’s superbly structured, very witty, and very joyous. It’s probably Coward’s most autobiographical piece and glitters and shimmers with humour as Garry’s inability to determine where acting stops and real life begins has farcical, and poignant, consequences."

Tickets for this production of Present Laughter are available from the box office on 01305 268692

For more information about Dorchester Drama see dorchesterdrama.org.uk