ArtsCinema Series Stage2Screen: Noel Coward's Fallen Angels
ArtsCinema Series Stage2Screen: Noel Coward's Fallen Angels
Noël Coward’s sparkling comedy of manners Fallen Angels follows Julia Sterroll and Jane Banbury, two fashionable London friends whose respectable marriages are suddenly unsettled by a postcard from Maurice Duclos—the charming Frenchman with whom they both had passionate affairs before marrying. With their husbands conveniently away on a golfing trip, Julia and Jane dress for Maurice’s arrival, open the champagne and attempt to conceal their growing excitement. Reminiscence soon becomes rivalry, however, and an elegant dinner descends into a gloriously tipsy battle of jealousy, insults and physical comedy.
First produced in London in 1925, when its frank treatment of female desire, premarital affairs and marital boredom was considered scandalous, Fallen Angels became one of Coward’s most daring early successes. Roundabout Theatre Company’s lavish 2026 Broadway revival—its first Broadway production in 70 years—was directed by Scott Ellis and played a sold-out limited engagement at the Todd Haimes Theatre. The production received five Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of a Play and leading-actress nominations for Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara, and won for Jeff Mahshie’s sumptuous costume design. Filmed live on the Broadway stage, the production now comes to cinemas through BroadwayHD and Trafalgar Releasing, preserving the performances, Art Deco setting and champagne-fueled comedy of the acclaimed revival.