Sir Noël Pierce Coward

British playwright and actor. He began performing on stage as a boy, and later branched out into many other fields, including playwriting, directing, composing, screenwriting, and directing. His many plays range from comedies, melodramas, musicals, and revues, but he is especially known for his sophisticated comedies that draw on the tradition of comedy of manners. His most famous works include Pollen Fever (1925) and Private Lives (1930), which depict troubled relationships between men and women in a dry style, the latter of which gained a particularly good reputation as the author himself both directed and starred in it. Other well-known works include Planning for Life (1932), Merry Ghosts (1941), and Laughter Now (1942). All of these works are characterized by their concise, richly suggestive writing style and biting wit. In addition to his plays, he wrote numerous songs, novels, and a two-volume autobiography entitled The Indicative Present (1932) and The Implicit Future (1954), as well as a lengthy diary published posthumously in 1982. In 1970 he was made Sir.

[Tetsuo Kishi]

"Kato Kyohei's translation of Noel Coward's Plays, 2 volumes (1976, 1977, Japan Publishers)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イギリスの劇作家、俳優。少年時代から舞台に立ち、のち劇作、演出、作曲、映画シナリオ執筆、映画監督など多方面に進出。数多い戯曲は喜劇、メロドラマ、ミュージカル、レビューなど多岐にわたるが、風俗喜劇の伝統を引く洗練された喜劇がとくに高く評価されている。代表作は『花粉熱』（1925）、『私生活』（1930）など、乱れた男女関係を乾いた筆致で描いたもので、とりわけ後者は作者自ら演出と主演を兼ねて評判になった。ほかに『生活の設計』（1932）、『陽気な幽霊』（1941）、『現在の笑い』（1942）も有名。これらはいずれも簡潔で含蓄の豊かな文体と辛辣(しんらつ)な機知とに特徴がある。戯曲以外に歌曲多数、小説のほか『直説法現在』（1932）と『不定法未来』（1954）と題する2巻の自伝があり、死後の1982年に大部の日記が刊行された。1970年、サーの称号を受けた。

［喜志哲雄］

『加藤恭平訳『ノエル・カワード戯曲集』全2巻（1976、1977・ジャパン・パブリッシャーズ）』

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