How does Home and Beauty compare to other Somerset Maugham works?
I was amazed with Home and Beauty because it’s genuinely not what you’d expect. The play is like three episodes of Fawlty Towers back to back. Maugham wrote it when he was very ill, but he was obviously in a good mood – all he wanted to do was make people laugh. You can’t believe this is by the same person who wrote Of Human Bondage. When I’m playing it, I can feel the audience being surprised. Why do you think Maugham’s plays are currently in vogue? It’s funny how playwrights come in and out of fashion, isn’t it? I think it’s just a knock-on effect. One director puts on a production and then every other director takes notice. What’s your favourite line from Home and Beauty? “Women are scarce in Manitoba.” You won’t get it unless you see the play, of course. There are loads of corkers, though. He’s a bit like Wilde in that way, with gems of one-liners about every 15 lines or so. What’s the funniest thing that has happened during rehearsals/performances to date of Home and Beauty? Rehea
