Waiting in the Wings

⟵ This production is part of our Past Seasons archive

NOËL COWARD’s

Synopsis
“The Wings” is a charitable home for retired actresses, women who once lived at the very center of applause and public admiration, and who must now learn how to live together when the curtain has long since fallen. Coward’s signature wit is radical in its insistence that these women are not relics of a bygone era, but fully realized human beings who are sharp, opinionated, funny, difficult, generous, and full of life. They are voices shaped by experience, artistry, and survival that deserve to be heard. With poignant humor, Waiting in the Wings reminds us that if we are to live fully, we must continue to grow and recognize that a life well led is measured not by applause, but by connection.

A Theatricum Past Production

Ran July 11 – October 3, 2026 at our outdoor amphitheater

What Critics Are Saying About "Waiting in the Wings"

OLDER ACTRESSES SHINE AN AMUSING DELIGHT GOOD ENOUGH TO SEE A SECOND TIME POIGNANT & NUANCED PURE ENSEMBLE MAGIC WORLD-CLASS POWERHOUSE CAST

“It’s a banquet for older actresses, who get to prove that, while minds and bodies are mortal, artistry doesn’t have an expiration date.”

“Set under the night sky and lovely trees at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon, the play features a great ensemble cast of actresses working together to remind us that Noel Coward knows how to write a fast-paced, witty script. Packed with Coward’s razor-sharp dialogue, this play also reverberates with meaning. In the quieter time of their lives, the women are able to confront the longing for what was and what never happened, as well as welcome the possibility of forgiveness.”

“The entire production is expertly, nimbly (but never numbly!) helmed by WGTB’s Co-Producing Artistic Director Willow Geer, who elicits, poignant, nuanced, finely etched portraits from her cast.“

“Five of The Wings’ resident actresses are played by women with decades of collective Theatricum history, on a stage where several of them have spent the better part of their careers. It’s the company’s enduring answer to the question Coward’s play poses — what do we owe the people who gave their lives to this art? Hold them close as family, and keep casting them.”

Noël Coward’s
Waiting in the Wings

First presented by FBS (Plays) Ltd in assoc. with Michael Redgrave Productions Ltd
at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin on 8 August 1960 (2 weeks)
then at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool (one week)
subsequently at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London, 7 September 1960
(188 performances)
WAITING IN THE WINGS © NC Aventales AG 1960
Copyright agent: Alan Brodie Representation Ltd

www.noelcoward.com

Noël Peirce Coward (1899–1973) made his professional stage debut aged 11 in The Goldfish and soon became a prolific actor and writer. His controversial breakthrough play The Vortex (1924) established his reputation in the West End and on Broadway. During the 1920s and 30s he wrote classics including Hay Fever, Private Lives and Bitter Sweet, often collaborating with Gertrude Lawrence. During World War II he wrote Blithe Spirit and the films In Which We Serve and Brief Encounter. Later celebrated as a cabaret star and film actor, Coward was knighted in 1970 and died in Jamaica in 1973.

Find out more about Noël Coward here.

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