The Rat Trap ★★★ Park Theatre | Jan 28 - Mar 14, 2026

The Rat Trap, written in 1918, when Noël Coward was just eighteen, marks the debut of a remarkably precocious playwright. While flashes of Coward’s characteristic wit are evident, the play lacks the polish, elegance, and structural assurance of his later work. With its social critique, the four-act play also suggests the influence of Ibsen, particularly A Doll’s House, but it comes across as somewhat laboured. Sheila and Keld are both writers, bound together by affection but also by a keen streak of rivalry. When they decide to marry, Sheila’s flatmate Olive, probably a stand-in for Coward, warns the bride-to-be against sacrificing her creative ambitions to the demands of marriage. Olive’s warning proves prophetic. As Keld’s career flourishes and his philandering becomes more apparent, tensions escalate. The couple quarrel over work, fidelity, and their marital roles, until Sheila finally leaves. Coward’s critique of the restrictive and unrealistic expectations brought to marriage is sharpened by contrast with another vapid young couple, also writers, who are living together. It is made clear that this twosome, although unmarried, is not immune to the challenges that face Keld and Sheila. In the end it is suggested that marriage may offer a particular stability, but only if it is entered into with realism and pragmatism. This revival, reimagined by Bill Rosenfield, aims to underline the play’s contemporary relevance but although the intentions are clear, the execution is less convincing. Coward’s stylised dialogue comes across as overtly written, and unfortunately the cast's delivery of the lines neither naturalises it nor does the director succeed in creating a sui generis realm in which the audience simply accepts it. Similarly, the exaggerated gestures accompanying the cast’s declamations fail to feel natural or to support the creation of a convincing, self-contained world. Instead, the writing's awkwardness is accentuated and the audience is further distanced from the characters and their predicament. For admirers of Coward, this is far from his strongest work nor is this the most satisfying production. Nevertheless, The Rat Trap retains enough sharp humour and social observation to reveal the emerging voice of a playwright already alert to the follies of love, ambition and marriage.

Rated: ★★★

Reviewed by J.C.

Photo by Mitzi de Margary

When, Where, Getting there:

• Jan 28 - Mar 14, 2026
• Mon - Sat: 7:30 pm, Tue, Thu & Sat: 3 pm
• Park Theatre
• Nearest tube: Finsbury Park
• https://parktheatre.co.uk/events/the-rat-trap/