Markham Little Theatre brings Noël Coward’s sparkling comedy Present Laughter to the Flato Markham Theatre
Markham Little Theatre returns to the Flato Markham Theatre stage this November with Present Laughter, Noël Coward’s celebrated comedy about fame, vanity, aging, and the occasionally exhausting business of being adored. Running November 18 to 21, 2026, the production promises sophisticated wit, glamorous excess, and the kind of theatrical chaos that has made Coward’s work an audience favourite for generations.
“At its heart, Present Laughter is a story about identity — about the struggle to be truthful with yourself when you have spent so much of your life performing for everyone else,” says director Shelagh Carlini.
Garry Essendine is a celebrated London actor whose considerable charm is matched only by his equally considerable ego. Approaching middle age and preparing for an overseas tour, Garry finds his carefully managed existence complicated by an assortment of admirers, lovers, colleagues, and unwanted visitors. As romantic entanglements multiply, his elegant apartment becomes the setting for escalating misunderstandings, betrayals, and wonderfully bad behaviour.
Written in 1939 and first performed in 1942, Present Laughter was something of a personal project for Coward, who created Garry as a thinly disguised caricature of himself. The playwright even took the leading role in the original production. Since then, the role has attracted distinguished performers including Peter O’Toole, Ian McKellen, Kevin Kline, and Andrew Scott.
But beneath Coward’s famously polished dialogue lies a surprisingly recognizable portrait of a man questioning whether the public persona he has created has become impossible to escape.
“We may not all be famous actors with people clamouring at our dressing-room door,” explains Carlini, “but I think most of us reach a point in our lives, particularly around midlife, when we start asking ourselves some uncomfortable but important questions.”
Bringing Coward’s comedy to modern audiences presents particular challenges. His intricately constructed dialogue demands precision and impeccable timing, something Carlini has been exploring extensively in rehearsals.
“Rather than trying to modernize or dilute that language, our approach has been to really honour it — and then find the rhythm within it that will keep a contemporary audience completely engaged,” she says.
Leading the production is Peter Shipston as Garry Essendine, one of three performers making their MLT debuts. Already familiar to audiences at Curtain Club and Theatre Aurora, Shipston brings considerable experience to the demanding role.
“He has been finding a beautiful balance between Garry’s suave, sophisticated, narcissistic exterior and the honest, vulnerable and genuinely hilarious human being underneath it all,” says Carlini.
Joining Shipston as newcomers are Jill McMillan as Garry’s fiercely loyal secretary Monica Reed, and Sammie Motie as one of his romantically enthusiastic admirers.
They are supported by MLT veterans Catherine Hughes, Kirsty Campbell, Imre Szabo, John Fetherston, Tristan Stansfield, Steve Birtles, and Judy Atherton.
“Honestly, this is my dream cast,” says Carlini. “There’s so much laughter in the rehearsal room, but there is also enormous respect for one another.”
Of course, a Noël Coward comedy calls for more than brilliant dialogue. Carlini has embraced the architecture and fashion of the 1930s and 1940s, envisioning Garry’s London penthouse as a glamorous Art Deco playground inspired partly by London’s historic Whitehall Court.
“I wanted the world of the play to feel luxurious and glamorous, but with a very particular balance,” she explains. “It is bordering on over-the-top — but we’re keeping it classy!”
Working with Michael Carlini and MLT’s volunteer building crew, the director faces the additional challenge of constructing and rehearsing the production at MLT’s Backstage facility before remounting it at the Flato Markham Theatre.
Costume designer Maria Cerone has also created a glamorous, character-driven period wardrobe, while the musical selections combine Coward’s own recordings with unexpected contemporary pieces.
Behind the glamour, Carlini recognizes another connection between the play and the company producing it: the peculiar family that develops when a group of people comes together to create theatre.
“You walk into a rehearsal room to do a job, and somewhere along the way you begin to trust one another, understand each other’s rhythms and create something together,” she explains.
It is a fitting sentiment for a volunteer company that has spent nearly six decades bringing Markham theatre lovers together.
“Come for the glamour, the ridiculousness and the glorious chaos,” says Carlini, “and stay for the surprisingly relatable reminder that we all reach moments of crisis, obsession and uncertainty.”
Present Laughter runs at the Flato Markham Theatre November 18 to 21, 2026 at 8:00pm with an additional 2:00pm matinee on the 21st.
Tickets and additional information are available through the Flato Markham Theatre box office.
Photo: Catherine Hughes as Liz Essendine and Peter Shipston as Garry Essendine in MLT’s Present Laughter