Lily Nichol and Ewan Miller in The Rat Trap [Mitzi De Margary]

IT’S hard to believe Noël Coward completed The Rat Trap in 1918, when he was just 18. The play wasn’t staged until 1926, following his breakthrough with The Vortex (1924), about vanity, addiction and adultery.

Troupe’s revival of The Rat Trap, reimagined by Bill Rosenfield, marks the centenary of Coward’s debut.

Set in 1920s Belgravia, it follows the marriage of two writers – up-and-coming playwright Keld Maxwell (Ewan Miller) and novelist Sheila Brandreth (Lily Nichol) – whose love is tested by competing aspirations, marital expectations and artistic resentment.

At the outset, Sheila is the more successful writer, but Keld pushes for the freedom that allows him to advance his career. Sheila’s work falters as she shoulders domestic responsibilities and manages their housekeeper Burrage (Angela Sims).

Her close friendship with Olive (Gina Bramhill) also suffers, while Keld is seduced by the attentions of actress Ruby Ramond (Zoe Goriely), a former showgirl.

Their already fragile relationship is further strained by another couple, Naomi (Ailsa Joy) and Edmund (Daniel Abbott), irritatingly smug about not having married.

Rosenfield succeeds in stripping The Rat Trap of extraneous baggage – he was permitted to cut or revise dialogue that distracted from its core themes – and the result is an engaging drama about artistic ambition and domestic constraint: the “rat trap” of marriage and the suppression of female talent.

The play feels surprisingly resonant, though its main flaw – an abrupt ending – remains. The cast is largely excellent, delivering laugh-out-loud moments and flashes of dark humour.

It’s beautifully staged by Kirsty Patrick Ward, supported by Libby Watson’s evocative set and imaginative costumes.

Warmly recommended.

Until March 14
parktheatre.co.uk/