Christine Baranski Makes West End Debut in Hay Fever — SkimNews
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- Christine Baranski makes her West End debut in Noël Coward's Hay Fever — her fourth Coward play — playing ageing actress Judith Bliss opposite Richard E Grant as her husband David; the role has previously been played by Edith Evans, Celia Johnson, Judi Dench, Penelope Keith and Lindsay Duncan.
- Richard E Grant recounts that Bruce Robinson told him he looked like 'a fat Dirk Bogarde' before his Withnail and I audition, where he passed Bill Nighy and Kenneth Branagh in the corridor and was instructed to drop the Noël Coward and 'read it with more rage.'
- Baranski began her television career reluctantly at 41 or 42 to cover tuition bills, commuting on red-eyes and never buying LA property; winning the 1995 Emmy for Cybill led Mike Nichols to cast her in The Birdcage.
- Baranski replies 'It's about time' after Grant notes an unprecedented number of Emmys going to female actors over 50; she and Hacks winner Jean Smart previously played biker chicks in The Odd Couple II opposite Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.
- Grant describes working with Robert Altman on The Player and Gosford Park as a joy but calls the improvised Pret-a-Porter set a 'car crash' — one day Danny Aiello insulted Lauren Bacall as 'a left-wing Commie bitch' and the cast 'sent him to Coventry.'
- Grant dubs his late-career cameo phase his late wife's 'condiment years,' where he's added to the meal like 'vinegar or ketchup or mustard,' while Baranski credits her four-decade career to embracing supporting roles rather than chasing leading-lady status.
Why it matters: Two veterans use the Hay Fever publicity circuit to push back on Hollywood's youth obsession — a tension Baranski calls the play's actual subject. Grant's 'condiment years' self-description and Baranski's claim that longevity came from staying a supporting actress frame late-career character work as a chosen posture rather than a comedown.
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