Hay Fever

For a spot of fun at the theatre, go to Sydney Theatre Company's Hay Fever. Director Imara Savage has perfectly captured the energy and wit of Noel Coward's play in this contemporary-ish production, drawing upon the skills of an impressive ensemble cast, as led by Heather Mitchell as Judith.

Judith Bliss is the matriarch of the Bliss family, the wife of David (Tony Llewellyn-Jones), and mother of Sorel (Harriet Dyer) and Simon (Tom Conroy). She, a retired actress, has a certain flair for the dramatic — as do her husband and children. Every moment is an opportunity for games and high drama, the smallest gestures heightened to declarations of love and pain, the banter freely flying, the self-centred family loving each other more for their arguments. Each Bliss, ever so bohemian, invites a romantic guest to their country home for the weekend, to flirt, to play, to run through the garden (a gorgeous set piece behind the home, created by Alicia Clements). Their guests, a diplomat, an ingenue, a sportsman, and an older woman, are overwhelmed by the antics in the house, and drawn into the family's stories.

David Bliss is a novelist, huffing and puffing his way around the house, Sorel is wondering if perhaps she should be more normal, and Simon is content to paint and pine after the object(s) of his interest. Each is given full life and movement by the stellar physical cast, who add appropriate bluster and vitality to these larger-than-life protagonists.