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''Star Chamber'' is a one-act play by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up ''Tonight at 8:30'', a cycle written to be performed in alternating groups of three plays, across three evenings. In the introduction to a published edition of the plays, Coward wrote, "A short play, having a great advantage over a long one in that it can sustain a mood without technical creaking or over padding, deserves a better fate, and if, by careful writing, acting and producing I can do a little towards reinstating it in its rightful pride, I shall have achieved one of my more sentimental ambitions." 〔(''Shaw Festival Study Guide, 2009'' ), p. 4. Accessed 17 March 2010.〕 ''Star Chamber'' concerns a charity committee meeting among various actors around a table. The play was first performed in London on 21 March 1936. It received only one performance in the original run. However, it has been included in some revivals of the cycle. ==History== Six of the plays in the cycle were first presented at the Manchester Opera House beginning in October 1935.〔''The Manchester Guardian'', 16 October 1935, p. 11〕 A seventh was added on the subsequent provincial tour, and the final three, including ''Star Chamber'', were added during the London run. Coward directed all ten pieces, and each starred Coward and Gertrude Lawrence. Coward said that he wrote them as "acting, singing, and dancing vehicles for Gertrude Lawrence and myself".〔Coward, unnumbered introductory page〕 The story in ''Star Chamber'' draws on Coward's own experiences as President of the Actors' Orphanage, a post he held from 1934 to 1956.〔Lesley, pp. 168 and 354〕 Coward makes fun of egocentric actors and the pedantry of committees. In the play, the president's lapdog is "the most sympathetic character" in the piece.〔Hitchcock, Laura ("''Tonight at 8:30'' — Part One, If Love Were All" ), CurtainUp Los Angeles, October 2007〕 The play's only London performance in the original run was on 21 March 1936 at the Phoenix Theatre.〔''The Times'' 10 January 1936, p. 10.〕 After this maiden performance, Coward withdrew it from the cycle. The Broadway production in 1936 omitted ''Star Chamber''〔(''Tonight at 8:30'' ) at the IBDB database〕 as did the Canadian productions in 1938, the Broadway revivals in 1948 and 1967 and the 1981 Lyric Theatre production in London. However, the 2000, the Williamstown Theatre Festival revived six of the plays, including ''Star Chamber''.〔Brantley, Ben. ("How to Savor Fleeting Joys: Smiles Suave, Brows Arched", ) ''The New York Times'', 28 June 2000,〕 The sheer expense involved in mounting what are effectively ten different productions has usually deterred revivals of the entire ''Tonight at 8:30'' cycle. However, the Antaeus Classical Theater Ensemble in Los Angeles revived all ten plays in October 2007,〔〔Hetrick, Adam. ("Noël Coward's ''Tonight at 8:30'' Begins L.A. Run Oct. 20" ), 20 October 2007〕 and the Shaw Festival did so in 2009.〔Belcher, David. ("Brushing Up Their Coward in Canada" ). ''New York Times'', 17 August 2009〕 The BBC broadcast the play on the Home Service in May 1940 starring Margaretta Scott, and again in June 1941.〔''The Times'', 18 May 1940, p. 11 and ''The Manchester Guardian'', 24 June 1941, p. 2〕 In 1991, BBC television mounted productions of the ''Tonight at 8:30'' plays with Joan Collins taking the Lawrence roles, but ''Star Chamber'' was omitted.〔Truss, Lynne. "Tonight at 8.30", ''The Times'', 15 April 1991〕 The play was not included in the Heinemann edition of the ''Tonight at 8:30'' plays published in 1936, and was first published in 1939 in ''Rose Window'', a tribute to St Bartholomew's Hospital by twenty-five authors, including Vera Brittain, J.B. Priestley, Hugh Walpole, Emlyn Williams and Radclyffe Hall as well as Coward. The book was illustrated by Anna Zinkeisen, who contributed a drawing of Xenia James (Lawrence's role) to accompany ''Star Chamber''.〔(Coward bibliography ) at the Noel Coward website〕 In connection with Coward's centenary in 1999, the play was printed in the 7th volume of the Methuen series of Coward's ''Collected Plays''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Star Chamber (play)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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