Rex Harrison [antikvár]

1 Light Comedy's Master 'If you weren't the best light comedian in the country, all you'd be fit for is selling cars in Great Portland Street.' Noel Coward to Rex Harrison, circa 1950 'The master of light comedy' - that is bound to be the final snap summation of Rex Harrison, the actor. And it is certainly true, although the words carry their own in-built qualification: is that all? It still seems wrong to take light comedy as seriously as heavy drama, if only because it tends to be enjoyed more readily and is less demanding intellectually. We know really that comedy is at least as difficult to perform as heavy drama - but the problem is that nothing spoils comedy more than taking that into account while watching it. Even more than tragic drama, the obtrusive artifice of the musical encourages appreciation of performing skill while it is being watched - which is one reason why, for the vast majority of the world audience, Harrison is remembered first and foremost for his stage and screen portrayals of Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, in which, fortunately, his comic gifts were to the fore as well as his unique way with a song. Another complication is that Harrison's career is hard to digest. It is inconsistent. His stage work is spht between Broadway and the West End, so that he hasn't 1