Independent, June 12, 1991, by William Cook. 
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Noel Coward's steamy study of the sexual passions that lurk 
beneath a civilised veneer wasn't performed in Britain until 
nine years after its American premiere. "Point Valaine" 
dredges the depths of lust and melancholy. The fragile 
comedy that conceals them is never more than inches think.

On a tiny Caribbean island, Linda Valaine (Sara Kestelman) 
entertains English tourists in a hotel converted from her 
dead father's mission. But the arrival of an attractive 
young pilot shatters the discreet control which she exerts 
over her customers, and exposes her animalistic affair with 
her Russian waiter. Valaine, who has never visited her 
homeland, is stranded between England's starched formality 
and the latent eroticism of her adopted land.

Tom Lishman's stormy sound-effects evoke the climate's 
sadistic savagery, but Tim Luscombe's direction is rather 
more hit and miss. He emphasises the play's suppressed 
tensions with wit and elegance. However, the homosexual 
undercurrents are somewhat cheaply overplayed. 

Ultimately, the evening belongs to Edward Petherbridge. His 
poignant portrayal of a wise but emotionally bankrupt writer 
encapsulates the subtle sadness that underscores this play. 
When love bridges gaps in generations and cultures, its 
electric consequences can end in catastrophe. 



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                     Bentley's Bedlam
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