Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Noël Coward Collection cover art

The Noël Coward Collection

By: Noël Coward
Narrated by: Annette Bening, Joe Mantegna, Eric Stoltz, Rosalind Ayres, Ian Ogilvy, Yeardley Smith, Shirley Knight
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Terence Rattigan: A BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art
The Noel Coward BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art
Design for Living cover art
George Bernard Shaw cover art
This Happy Breed (Classic Radio Theatre) cover art
The Arthur Miller Collection cover art
Blithe Spirit cover art
The Plays of J. B. Priestley cover art
Tom Stoppard: A BBC Radio Collection cover art
The Complete Barchester Chronicles cover art
Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister - The Complete Audio Collection cover art
David Hare: A BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art
The Oscar Wilde Collection cover art
The Oscar Wilde BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art
Jeeves & Wooster: The Collected Radio Dramas cover art
The Complete Mapp and Lucia, Volume 1 cover art

Summary

Six phenomenally sophisticated Noël Coward comedies: 

Fallen Angels: Julia and Fred and Willy and Jane are happily married and the best of friends, until a postcard arrives with news of the imminent arrival of a certain handsome Frenchman—gay, debonair, and utterly sophisticated. Performed by Annette Bening, et al. 

Hay Fever: A country house weekend goes haywire when the guests and their hosts play a game of romantic musical chairs. Performed by Eric Stoltz, et al. 

Private Lives: On the French Rivera, the lights of a yacht are reflected in the water and in the eyes of four hilariously mismatched lovers. Perhaps Coward’s greatest comedy, Private Lives shimmers with romance, desire and bittersweet truth. Performed by Rosalind Ayres, et al. 

Design For Living: Three terminally stylish friends attempt to uncoil their twisted love triangle in this sexy and scandalous gem. Written in 1932, the play was deemed extremely daring. Performed by Michelle Arthur, et al. 

Present Laughter: Stage star Garry Essendine struggles to plan his trip to Africa while his flat is invaded by a love struck ingénue, an adulterous producer, a married seductress, Garry’s estranged wife Liz and an aspiring playwright who is quite, quite mad. Performed by: Ian Oglivy, Yeardley Smith, et al. 

Blithe Spirit: A convivial evening party among friends is transformed when a séance conjures the ghost of Elvira, the host’s first wife, who delights in wreaking havoc among the living. Performed by: Rosalind Ayres, Ian Ogilvy, et al. 

Exclusive bonus material: Two rarely-performed shorts by Noël Coward, Design for Rehearsing and Age Cannot Wither, as well as conversations on Coward with Barry Day (Noel Coward Foundation) and John Lahr (The New Yorker).

©2010 L.A. Theatre Works (P)2010 L.A. Theatre Works

More from the same

What listeners say about The Noël Coward Collection

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    43
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    33
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    36
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic and refreshing experience

Would you listen to The Noël Coward Collection (Dramatized) again? Why?

The collection is built of classical stories that build layer upon layer of comic and classic statements. You need to listen again to pick up the gems hidden in the comments

Who was your favorite character and why?

I honestly don't have one - i love Blythe spirit as a plot but the characters are so diverse it i don't have a favourite.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I could have done without the narrator - i wanted the purity of the play - but they have a role i guess - they certainly were not the best thing about the content.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No - this is not a book this is a collection of plays - you can't think of it as a book

Any additional comments?

Shame the american narrator was so heavy in accent for such stereo english material. But you can't restrict Coward to the UK - his genius deserves a world platform.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fine humour like fine Champagne

Where does The Noël Coward Collection (Dramatized) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The best of the audio books I've read so far.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

These are recordings of radio plays. The parts are played by excellent professional actors, including the superb Ian Ogilvy.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Brilliantly funny.

Any additional comments?

I can listen to this over and over. An audio book you can listen to inently and also one to keep handy for odd moments.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Jj
  • 07-06-15

Fuzzy feel good listen

Most excellent Noel coward plays narrated by fantastic actors Blythe spirit is always my favourite

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Entertainment

Super listen especially when you are working at home and want to listen in short bursts!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great versions of very funny plays

Firstly a couple of the accents are a bit dodgy but not distractingly so, if you can get past those these are great productions of very funny plays. A highlight is the second act of Fallen Angels which is hilarious. The only downside is that on my phone all I have is chapter numbers (it may not be the same for everyone) so my advice is when the next play starts use the bookmark to make a note.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What a pleasure and fun!

Got the power cut lasting countless hours and we got entertained by the plays! Was such a pleasure. The delivery of actors and quality of recodring. Please don’t miss it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • K8
  • 12-07-22

entertaining plays

his waa my first introductionnto Noel Coward plays. Great listens and funny plays but one doesn't work properly (tracks haven't been uploaded fully.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

five stars for Fallen Angels alone

Hadn't met Fallen Angels before. Laughed out loud while walking, luckily naighbours know by now. Recommended to postwoman, as an antidote to our usual thrillers

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely hilarious.

Absolutely hilarious. Loved the writing and the performances. Really good value in the collection. Enjoyed it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!