BBC Radio 7, 24 July 2010
Set in 1948, this haute couture mystery was set in Paris, at
a time when Noel Coward (Malcolm Sinclair) was about to perform his hit play Present Laughter in French. The plot
itself involved a murdered mannequin, a harassed fashion house maitresse - Coward's devoted friend Ginette Spanier (Linda
Marlowe) - and a psychopathic French murdeer and sugar-daddy (William Hootkins) who ended up holding Coward at gun-point just
as the Master was about to perform the third act of Present Laughter to an audience almost entirely comprised of
Parisian high society. Needless to say Coward escaped, due in no small part to a deux ex machina who ensured that
the killer was safely despatched before he could caused the Master any harm.
A Bullet at Balmain's offered some incidental pleasures, centred chiefly
on dramatist Marcy Kahan's analysis of Coward's character. While determined to pursue experiments, even if they involved a
hair-raising amount of work - such as learning Present Laughter in French, Sinclair's Coward betrayed certain insecurities.
He could not do without the regular company of Cole Lesley (Tam Williams) and Lorne Lorraine (Eleanor Bron), both of whom
were devoted to him. Neither of them could be described as his lovers; they were just his permanent companions. Coward's true
lover, the actor Graham Payn, was back in London performing on the stage, leaving Coward bereft of true affection. However,
as a basically resourceful person, Coward amused himself by becoming involved in the murder mystery; it provided a pleasant
diversion, even if it involed a certain degree of danger.
Although a patriotic Englishman, Coward was also genuinely cosmopolitan; he could
make himself at home in any part of the world he chose. Hence his fondness for visiting and performing in Paris. In later
years he would make his permanent home as a tax-exile in Jamaica, preferring the sunshine and sea to the grey conformity of
early 1960s England.
This entertaining drama, punctuated with nostalgic extracts from Coward's original
song recordings, was directed by Ned Chaillet.
