Semi-Monde

The first single edition of Noë l Coward's most controversial play.
"Onlyin Semi-Monde does Coward find a successful metaphor for the sexualcomplications that lie behind his posturing. Semi-Monde is easily themost visually daring of his comedies, and the most intellectuallystartling . . . made up of sexually mischievous tableauxvivants and gets much nearer the homosexual knuckle than Coward'spublic image allowed." - (John Lahr, London Review of Books)
Writtenin 1926 and originally entitled Ritz Bar, Semi-Monde was considered toodaring for its time: "its production in London or New York seemedunlikely as some of the characters, owing to lightly suggestedabnormalities, would certainly be deleted by the censor" (Noë l Coward, Present Indicative). The play finally received its public premiere onlyafter Coward's death, at the Citizen's Theatre, Glasgow, in September1977.