A rare classic that still resonates with present

OUT of his first handful of plays, The Vortex is what set British playwright Noel Coward's career on track, bringing him critical acclaim, even as it scandalised London for the way it portrayed the proclivities (read: sex and drugs) of high society.

Strange then that it's a play not as often staged as his other classics, says director Bob Tomson (Blood Brothers, Evita) who's actually directing a Coward play for the first time in his illustrious West End career.

"I think because it's an unusual and daring play about a family about to implode on itself, but it's full of Coward's wit and comedy about social manners," he relates.