Coward’s ‘Present Laughter’ — it’s complicated

Married, but not faithfully so, and completely self-absorbed, his playmates and wine keep his looming midlife crisis at bay, but his complicated life is swiftly unraveling.

John Fisher (who also directs) stars as Garry in this Theatre Rhinoceros staging of Noël Coward’s “Present Laughter,” a World War II-era farce that the playwright described as semiautobiographical.

The Manchester Guardian raved about the production during its 1942 debut, writing that “one is tempted to cast discretion to the winds and predict that this will be remembered as the best comedy of its kind and generation ... one of those rare occasions when the critic must claim the privilege of his fellow-playgoers, simply to marvel, admire, and enjoy wholeheartedly.”