Preview: Expect ‘punash’ from the latest WUDS production ‘Hay Fever’

Ahead of the opening night I spoke to the creative minds and talent behind the latest WUDS show, Noel Coward’s Hay Fever. The narrative follows a story of an upper class family who, all rather bored of one another, invite down a guest each to their house. What follows is a hilariously funny weekend of romance and ridicule among the family and their guests.

Director Lizzie Melbourne originally chose the show having seen it a few years back and finding it hilarious, saying ‘I’ve always loved Noel Coward, I love that 1920s glamour and elegance’. She also felt that she wanted to put on something a bit different, ‘I wanted to put on a comedy because it’s been a long time since we’ve had something like this.’

The Hay Fever cast enjoying rehearsals. Image: Lizzie Melbourne

From the left top row: Ella McLeod as Myra Arundel, Juno Kelly as Clara, Ali Brown as David Bliss, Fred Kelly as Simon Bliss, Louise Fox as Jackie Croyton, Tom Hammond as Richard Greatham. From the left bottom row: Hattie Collins as Judith Bliss, Liv Weaver as Sorel Bliss and Paddy Shakespeare-Hill as Sandy Tyrell

It is surprisingly refreshing to have a light comedy emerging from WUDS’ latest cohort of shows. With recent works including more theatrically highly strung pieces, Hay Fever will bring a welcomed breath of fresh air. Melbourne hoped Coward’s piece would be more inclusive of a wider student body rather than selectively appealing to theatre students, ‘it’s a really inclusive play which appeals to so many different people, people have been really excited about it, hearing about the story and the characters.’

The success behind the show would absolutely be a testament to the team and the cast

The script is lends itself extremely well, giving us a guaranteed good night out to the theatre. I asked Melbourne about what might make this version of a play done so many times worth the watch, she assured me the success behind the show would absolutely be a testament to the team and cast. ‘The cast work really well together, they get on so well. We’ve done so many improvisations with the rehearsals, they’ve got some really great relationships going on and really nice moments.’

Ali Brown who plays David Bliss and Fred Kelly as his on-stage son Simon. Image: Sophie Dudhill

She also touched on elements we may not have seen within the piece before, introducing an on-stage musician who self-composed work especially for the show. ‘We’ve got Tom on the piano, who we’ve kind of weaved in as a new character with him as a musician who will be on a grand piano, he’s composing the music for it which is really nice.’ Another thing to look out for is the set, which I’m assured will be beautiful.

Something to be wary of is how script heavy Coward’s piece is but this did not faze the cast as they praised Melbourne’s rehearsal techniques. Ali Brown who is playing David Bliss said ‘It’s a credit to Lizzie, she’s been absolutely fantastic. I think we are all quite daunted by how script heavy it is and it’s very wordy but we get into each rehearsal and she gives us improvisations to do in character, some of them have gone a bit off course, but most of them have really helped develop our characters.’

‘It’s a credit to Lizzie, she’s been absolutely fantastic’

Hattie Collins who will be playing Judith Bliss, the mother and wife of the family, spoke about her constant character development. ‘I’ve found triggers for my character. Even just two days ago we decided that Judith likes a drink. That’s something that hasn’t been worked into the rehearsal process until now, so every time we come into a rehearsal we’re just learning more about our characters.’

When asked what to except I was told ‘Punash, punash, punash.’ So take from that what you will and get yourself down to the Warwick Arts Centre Studio. The show runs from Tuesday 24 – Friday 27 November with student tickets at just £7.50. To buy tickets and for more information visit www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/whats-on/2015/hay-fever/