Rising camp of two lovely angels

Fallen Angels is one of No?l Coward's early comedies, first put on in 1925, when Tallulah Bankhead and Edna Best were the stars. It has a long history in the West End but hasn't been performed there since 1967. Which is odd, because it is rather wonderfully written and constructed.

I play Jane and Felicity Kendal plays Julia. We are middle-class, rather rich, married women, who probably live in Belgravia. They are just sort of wasting time basically, but having fun doing it, talking about their ex-lover Maurice, a Frenchman each has had an affair with years earlier, and who has now arrived in London.

I believe the middle-class audiences in the Twenties were shocked by the play. I suppose they were shocked by two married women talking about lovers and getting drunk. It is certainly a lot of fun playing drunk, partly because I'm not good at being drunk in real life. If I have more than two I either fall asleep or I get ill. But it is also fun because Coward uses the drunk language as clearly and crystal-like as he would in any other place. Also, it is a wonderful ensemble piece and the whole cast is great. We are very blessed to have Tilly Tremayne (Saunders) playing the maid in the middle of it all, and Stephen Greif as the lover in the m?nage, as well as Eric Carte (Willy) and James Woolley (Fred), who are very funny as our husbands. It is lovely to laugh in the wings when you are not on.

I believe we've been getting good reviews leading up to the London run, but I haven't read any of them. I don't read reviews any more. I'm not just saying that. They get in the way. I don't like to read personal comments, even good ones, particularly if they mention a moment. When that moment arrives you become self-conscious.