PRESENT LAUGHTER to Play The Marlowe Theate in July

TWO of the UK's favourite actors lead the cast of Noël Coward's sparking comedy Present Laughter, coming to The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, next month (July).

Samuel West plays the flamboyant and self-obsessed actor, Garry Essendine, while Phyllis Logan is Monica Reed, his long-suffering secretary. Coward's semi-autobiographical comedy, set in the glamorous world of theatre, is a witty portrait of the life that whirled around him in his heyday and is widely considered to be one of his best-loved works. Filled with the brilliant lines of a master craftsman, this new production blends razor-sharp wit, dazzlingly funny dialogue, captivating characters and fabulous sets and costumes.

Charming diva Garry is determined to disregard his advancing years by revelling in endless tantrums and casual affairs. He may be teetering reluctantly towards middle age but everyone is infatuated by Garry, and his antics and rampant flirtations require the most careful handling by those closest to him. About to depart for Africa, he finds himself besieged by a bevy of would-be seductresses, not to mention his acerbic secretary, his estranged wife, and an obsessed young playwright. As he attempts to disentangle himself from their clutches and demands, the comedy escalates.

Samuel West has performed extensively on stage and screen. He played Frank Edwards in all four series of ITV's hit drama series Mr Selfridge and, earlier this year, performed in BBC's The Hollow Crown, marking Shakespeare's anniversary. His many television credits also include Cambridge Spies, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Garrow's Law, Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk To Finchley, Waking The Dead and Any Human Heart. His film credits include Howards End, Notting Hill, Van Helsing, Iris, Persuasion and Hyde Park On Hudson. Amongst his numerous stage roles, he has portrayed Richard II and Hamlet on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). He was Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres from 2005 to 2007, and his many directing credits include The Romans In Britain at Sheffield's Crucible, Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Bristol Old Vic, and Waste at the Almeida. He has also performed on radio many times and has recorded more than 50 audiobooks.

Phyllis Logan's numerous television credits include all six series of the multi-award-winning ITV drama Downton Abbey, in which she played the housekeeper Mrs Hughes, voted by The Radio Times as its favourite character of the entire series. Over a period of eight years, she also played the role of Lady Jane in 48 episodes of the long-running BBC drama Lovejoy. Her film roles include Mike Leigh's Secrets & Lies, Every Picture Tells A Story, and Another Time, Another Place, for which she won the Evening Standard Award for Best Actress and the BAFTA for Most Outstanding Newcomer to Film in 1984. Amongst her stage roles, she has played Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare's Richard III at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, and performed many times at The Hampstead Theatre.

The rest of the cast is RSC and National Theatre actor Rebecca Johnson (as Liz Essendine); Zoë Boyle (Joanna Lyppiatt), who is well known on television for her many roles, including Lavinia Swire in series two of Downton Abbey; film and stage actor Jason Morell (Morris Dixon); Toby Longworth (Henry Lyppiatt). In the 1980s, Toby formed The Rubber Biscuits with comedian Bill Bailey. He later joined the RSC, became a radio performer, and was the voices of Lott Dod and Gragra in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, and all 34 roles in Judge Dredd: Solo.

Sally Tatum (Miss Erikson) is a RSC and TV actor (including Jenny in Channel 4's BAFTA Award-nominated series My Mad Fat Diary; Martin Hancock (Fred) is best known for his roles on TV in Holby City (Reg Lund), Coronation Street (Spider) and Cradle to the Grave. The cast is completed by Daisy Boulton, ElizaBeth Holland and Patrick Walshe McBride.

Directed by Stephen Unwin, the former Artistic Director of Kingston's Rose Theatre and founder of English Touring Theatre, the UK tour of Present Laughter produced by Theatre Royal Bath.

Coward wrote Present Laughter in 1939 as he approached his fortieth birthday. Fiirst performed in 1942, the original run featured Coward in the lead role. Over the past 70 years, the play has been performed worldwide, enjoying numerous revivals in Europe and North America, including a US tour in 1958 with Coward reprising his role. In subsequent productions, some of the many actors to play Garry have included Albert Finney, Peter O'Toole and Ian McKellen.

Playwright, composer, actor, author, director, producer and master of wit, Coward (1899 - 1973) remains one of our most distinguished and celebrated icons. He had written more than plays by the time he was in his mid-thirties, including the enormous hits Hay Fever, Private Lives and Cavalcade. Despite his comparative youth, the first of many biographies had already been written. His other many famous plays include Design for Living (1933); Blithe Spirit (1941); and Relative Values (1951). His films include This Happy Breed (1944), Blithe Spirit (1945), Brief Encounter (1945), and In Which We Serve (1942), which brought him Oscar nominations for Best Writer and Best Picture, and he received a special Honorary Academy Award for outstanding production achievement. Coward was knighted in 1970.

Present Laughter is at The Marlowe Theatre from Tuesday 19 to Saturday 23 July. Tickets, priced from £18 to £36.50 (concessions available; booking fee applies), are from the Box Office on 01227 787787 or marlowetheatre.com.

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