The Vortex is a play written by Noel Coward that was first performed in 1924. It tells the tale of Florence, an ageing socialite who continues to chase after younger lovers, while ignoring her long-suffering husband. Nicky is her 24 year old son, who returns from a stay in Paris with a surprise in the form of a fiancée. However, all is not as it seems, as he has developed a problem with drugs during his time away from home, and is struggling to hold his life together.

The stage takes the form of an art deco era circular room, with large mirrors and wooden slats forming the walls. This is an adaptable stage and changes/ grows into other rooms, for the variety of other settings required.  The costumes of Peter O’Brien are as ever, hugely impressive, and he captures the world of the roaring 20’s with great aplomb.

The first scenes in the play take the form of social gatherings, while a procession of people meet, greet and swap witty repartee, which you would associate with Coward. All the while, the various plots bubble away under the surface, and are contained within knowing glances and pointed comments. While the look and style of these opening scenes is impressive, due to some uneven acting, it doesn’t hold together as well as expected and the play never truly lifts off.

After the interval, the large cast is shrugged off, and the play focuses on Mother and Son and their issues. With this smaller cast and more succinct approach, it works better and leads to an impressive, if a little sudden finale. It is difficult to be shocked by the drug abuse or sexual antics of its protagonists, as the crowd would have been nearly a hundred years ago, but the writing is still impressive. This is a solid production, that is noteworthy for its sense of style and its attempts to capture a fascinating era of our past.

The Vortex runs at the Gate Theatre until March 22nd.

Directed by Annabelle Comyn

Set Design by Paul O’Mahony

Costume Design by Peter O’Brien

Lighting Design by Chahine Yavroyan

Composer & Sound Design by Philip Stewart

Choreography by Philip Connaughton

Cast:

Helen Saville played by Fiona Bell

Nicky Lancaster played by Rory Fleck Byrne

David Lancaster played by Simon Coury

Bruce Fairlight played by Peter Gaynor

Pauncefort Quentin played by Mark O’Regan

Florence Lancaster played by Susannah Harker

Preston played by Andrea Kelly

Bunty Mainwaring played by Katie Kirby

Clara Hibbert played by Rebecca O’Mara

Tom Veryan played by Ian Toner