A 70-minute champagne glass that cuts your throat.
In The Vortex, Coward explores the darker side of the cocktail party set. Emotional blackmail, drug abuse and shattered relationships are minutely observed in this disturbing, early piece from a playwright whose sharp eye was usually more turned towards the light.
Acting
Margaret Leighton's Florence: glamorous, ghastly, unforgettable.
Writing
Coward's dialogue so sharp it draws blood.
Director
Philip Dudley
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Written in 1924, this shocked audiences with its frank drug references; by 1969 it played as period-piece dread.
Richard Warwick, devastating as Nicky, largely left acting soon after—this performance remains his ghost.
GB
