Perloff does not recognize where the real humour lies

“Unfortunately, the way Perloff has managed it, the to-and-fro between the two [Lucy Peacock and Geraint Wyn Davies] is not so much comic as tedious. Coward gradually builds up their conflicts so they become ever more intense. Here Perloff lets their conflicts stay on the same level of intensity until the final over-the-top blow-up at the end of the act….

…in Act 3, Perloff does not leave well enough alone. She has Elyot eat marmalade directly out of the jar with a jam spoon and grimace and later put on Louise’s hat and carry her purse simply to get a laugh. Such actions show Perloff thinks she can make Coward funnier, whereas it only shows she does not recognize where the real humour lies.”