National Theatre Live: Hay Fever

The Chamber Cinema is bringing Hay Fever to Gloucester on Thursday 14 January, as part of the National Theatre Live season. It's Noël Coward's comedy, filmed live in the West End and shown on the big screen, so you get the full stage production without having to make the trip to London.

At the centre of it all is Judith Bliss, a retired stage actress who misses the applause. The Bliss family's country home is the setting, and the rest of the household prove too self-involved to be a decent audience for her, so Judith invites a young fan to stay for the weekend. The catch is that every other member of the family has a guest of their own arriving at the very same time, and things get complicated from there. It's a classic Coward setup: a house full of people who'd rather be the centre of attention than pay it to anyone else.

On the screen, Emmy and Tony winner Christine Baranski takes the lead as Judith Bliss, marking her West End debut. She stars alongside Academy Award nominee Richard E. Grant, and the whole production is directed by Emily Burns. Between those two, there's plenty of heavy lifting on the acting front, and having them both in the same room is a good reason to watch.

The screening runs 160 minutes, so it's a proper evening's entertainment rather than a quick turn around. It's rated 12A. Tickets start from £13.50, and it kicks off at 19:00 at The Chamber Cinema, inside the Gloucester Guildhall Arts Centre.