FOLLOWING IN COWARD'S FOOTSTEPS
ABOUT THE NOËL COWARD ARCHIVE TRUST
While it is apparent that Coward’s work continues to be relevant to the 21st Century, it is the bold mission of the Noël Coward Archive Trust (NCAT) to not only preserve Coward’s legacy and influence, but more importantly to make the materials from Coward’s lifetime publicly accessible for study, research, and cultural growth via both a physical archive and digital representations of this archive.
A large part of NCAT’s mission is to follow in the footsteps of Coward himself. As an individual who lacked a formal education, Coward greatly realised the significance of schooling, and subsequently taught himself what he needed to succeed in the world he wanted to belong to.
His determination paid off, as can
be seen in the image to the right,
where Coward received an honorary
degree at Sussex University later in
life. It is for this reason that NCAT’s
educational endeavours are so
prominent in our future goals.
In addition, Noël Coward’s charitable undertakings formed a large part of the person he was. Often not a well-known part of Coward’s history, he was in fact the most active president of The Actor’s Orphanage (now known as The Actors’ Children’s Trust), residing as president from 1934 to 1956
Coward expertly used his status in society to pioneer further celebrity philanthropy; he persuaded everyone of note in the theatrical profession to appear at Garden Parties, as well as getting them to either star in or attend fundraising galas at the London Palladium, all in aid of the charity.
Through his unwavering dedication and altruistic work with The Actor’s Orphanage, Coward provided hundreds of children not only somewhere to live, but also a formal education.
MEET THE TRUSTEES
THE NOËL COWARD ARCHIVE TRUST
Honorary Life Chairman
Dany Dasto
Honorary Life President
Geoffrey Johnson
Trustees
Alan Brodie
Barry Day
Peter Kyle (chair)
Alison Lee
Simon Beresford
Legal Consultant
Robert Lee
Archive Consultants
Rosy Runciman
Carrie Kruitwagen
Administrator
Laura Jane Elliott
THE NOËL COWARD ARCHIVE (US) INC.
US Trustees
Alan Brodie
Geoffrey Johnson
Barry Day
Patron
Kevin Kline
NCAT wish to echo Coward’s own philanthropic activities by using his Archive to not only provide educational opportunities for those less privileged, but also to support the theatrical and artistic community as Coward himself once did.
This history is our culture’s future, and everyone should be able to feel inspired by the positive force that Coward and his contemporaries had upon theatre and the arts.