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''We Were Dancing'' is a short comic play in two scenes by Noël Coward. It concerns a married woman who falls in love with another man at a dance on a south Pacific island. They plan to go to Australia, but in the cold light of morning, they realise that that they have nothing in common. It is one of ten short plays 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 explained that the cycle was an attempt to revive the popularity of short plays: "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.〕 Four of the plays in the cycle, including ''We Were Dancing'', "break into spontaneous song... in the most unexpected places".〔 ''We Were Dancing'' includes a song of the same name.〔Day, p. 36〕 The piece was first produced in Manchester in 1935 and then played in London (1936), New York (1936–1937) and Canada (1938). ''The Manchester Guardian'' described the play as "a witty little piece",〔 and it was later seen as one of the more durable of the ''Tonight at 8:30'' cycle.〔''The Times'', 23 December 1970, p. 7〕 It has enjoyed several major revivals. ==History== The play was first presented at the Opera House, Manchester, on 15 October 1935, when it was played along with two other plays from ''Tonight at 8:30'', ''The Astonished Heart'' and ''Red Peppers''.〔''The Manchester Guardian'', 16 October 1935, p. 11〕 Six of the plays debuted in Manchester, and a seventh was added on the subsequent provincial tour. The final three were added for the London run.〔Hoare, pp. 268–70〕 The plays were performed in various combinations of three at each performance during the original run. The plays chosen for each performance were announced in advance, although a myth evolved that the groupings were random.〔''The Times'', 20 January 1936, p. 10; 11 February 1936, p. 12; 2 March 1936, p. 12; 6 April 1936, p. 10; 2 May 1936, p. 12; 10 June 1936, p. 14.〕 Matinées were sometimes billed as ''Today at 2:30''. The first London performance was on 9 January 1936 at the Phoenix Theatre.〔''The Times'', 10 January 1936, p. 10.〕 Coward directed. All ten pieces 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 Broadway openings for the three parts took place on 24 November 1936, 27 November 1936 (including ''We Were Dancing'') and 30 November 1936 at the National Theatre, again starring Coward and Lawrence. ''Star Chamber'' was not included.〔(''We Were Dancing'' ) at the IBDB database〕 The London and New York runs were limited only by Coward's boredom at long engagements.〔Kenrick, John. ("Noel Coward 101: Coward's Musicals", ) ''Musicals 101: The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film''〕 Major productions of parts of the cycle were revived in 1948 and 1964 on Broadway, 1981 at the Lyric Theatre in London and at the Chichester Festival in 2006, but all omitted ''We Were Dancing''. However, ''We Were Dancing'' was revived at the Shaw Festival in 1971 and at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2000.〔Brantley, Ben. ("How to Savor Fleeting Joys: Smiles Suave, Brows Arched" ). ''The New York Times'', 28 June 2000〕 The Antaeus Company in Los Angeles revived all ten plays in October 2007, as did the Shaw Festival in 2009.〔Belcher, David. ("Brushing Up Their Coward in Canada" ). ''New York Times'', 17 August 2009〕 The play, together with ideas from ''Ways and Means'', another play in the ''Tonight at 8:30'' cycle, was loosely adapted as a film of the same name in 1942. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starred Norma Shearer and Melvyn Douglas. The plot was modified to so that the couple were now expatriate impoverished European aristocrats, professional houseguests of, and looking for mates among, nouveau riche Americans who are impressed by their titles.〔Landazuri, Margarita. (''We Were Dancing'' ), TCM.com, accessed 16 September 2014〕 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「We Were Dancing」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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