A MALE friend, aged 40 and single, said recently, in all seriousness, that he believed the marriage contract should be for 10 years renewable.

A woman friend, aged 41 and recently divorced, said last week that she believed she would find it difficult to live with anyone again but would be happy to be in a committed, monogamous relationship but in separate homes.

When Nol Coward wrote Design for Living in 1933 such ideas would have been so revolutionary as to be considered way beyond the pale. Marriage for life was the norm, but today's society is far more liberal in its attitudes to relationships as conventions are gradually eroded.

Coward introduces us to three characters, Otto, Gilda and Leo, artists all, who find that although at various times they cannot live together, they also cannot live without each other and decide in the end to live in a mnage a trois, a concept which must have outraged the 'decent' society which Coward loved to mock.

The restrictions placed on the theatre at the time prevented Coward from emphasising the bisexual nature of the two men and therefore the true nature of the triangular relationship but a chaste kiss at the end of Peter Hall's production at Malvern this week made it clear to our less-shockable eyes.

Within this textual restriction, the three principal players establish their relationships beautifully and Janie Dee gives an exciting and excitable performance as Gilda, the object of affection for both Leo and Otto. Leo, the writer catapulted to success (surely Coward writing in his own image) is played with playful precision by Aden Gillett and Hugo Speer gives a boyish charm to Otto which works well once one has recovered from the Frank Spencerishness of his first act beret.

Design for Living is a treat for Coward lovers, and runs at Malvern until Saturday. Box office 01684 892277.

REVIEW BY STEVE EVANS