Damian Lewis and Indira Varma Will Lead Noel Coward's LONDON CALLING! at the Duke of York's Theatre in October

The name ‘Noël Coward’ went up in West End lights for the first time when London Calling! opened at the Duke of York’s Theatre on 4 September 1923.

To celebrate the centenary of Coward’s first publicly performed musical revue, a special performance featuring Damian Lewis and Indira Varma will be staged at the same theatre on Thursday 5 October 2023 with the actors performing extracts from the roles originally created by Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence in the 1923 production.

There will also be a performance by Robert Hazle, who has reconstructed ‘Follow A Star’, the final number from London Calling!, joined by soprano Georgi Mottram. 

This will be the first time ‘Follow A Star’ has been performed since 1923. The music was thought lost until a handwritten draft was recently discovered when cataloguing the private collection of Coward’s US representative and close friend, Geoffrey Johnson, who, following his death in 2022, bequeathed his private collection to the Noël Coward Archive Trust.

Oliver Soden, author of the acclaimed new Coward biography, Masquerade, and historian Lucinda Gosling will set the revue in its theatrical and social context and discuss its lasting impact.

Part of the Coward 125 celebrations, the event is presented by the Noël Coward Foundation highlighting the outstanding work of the Noël Coward Archive Trust to conserve Coward’s archive and maintain his legacy.

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