Moya Nugent

Moya Nugent (27 March 1901 – 26 January 1954) was a British actress and singer born in Dublin who performed on stage, in silent film, and in radio broadcasts over a career spanning four decades. She is most closely identified with the work of Noël Coward, in whose plays and revues she appeared more than a dozen times across her career.

Nugent made her stage debut on 21 September 1911 at the Playhouse Theatre, London, playing Meenie in Rip Van Winkle at the age of ten. Later that same year she appeared at the Duke of York's Theatre as the Baby Mermaid and Liza in Peter Pan, roles she repeated in the three annual revivals that followed. Her early career also included the role of Maggie in The Ever-Open Door at the Aldwych Theatre in 1913, Isabella in Quality Street at the Duke of York's that same year, and appearances in the revues More and Pell-Mell at the Ambassadors Theatre in 1915. During the Christmas seasons of 1918 and 1919 she played the Princess in Old King Cole at the Grand Opera House, Belfast and the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. She also took on pantomime and children's roles in later years, including the title role in Cinderella in Edinburgh in 1920, Polly Perkins in Robinson Crusoe in Manchester in 1926, and Zoe in The Three Musketeers at Drury Lane in 1930.

It was through Peter Pan that Nugent first encountered Noël Coward, both being child performers in the production. Their professional association began in 1920 when she played Joyce Dermott in I'll Leave It to You, first in Manchester and then in the West End at the theatre now known as the Noël Coward Theatre. She appeared in his revue This Year of Grace at the London Pavilion in 1928 and in Words and Music at the Adelphi Theatre in 1932. Between those two revues she played Daisy Devon in Cavalcade at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Her New York stage work began with the role of Martha James in Conversation Piece, which ran at His Majesty's Theatre in London and then transferred to the 44th Street Theatre in 1934–35. In 1935 and 1936 she played parts in seven of the ten plays comprising the Tonight at 8.30 cycle, performing first on a pre-London tour, then at the Phoenix Theatre in London, and finally at the National Theatre in New York. Her roles in that cycle were Eva Blake in We Were Dancing, Walters in Hands Across the Sea, Elsie Gow in Fumed Oak, Emily Valance in Family Album, Princess Elena Krassiloff in Ways and Means, Beryl Waters in Still Life, and Hester More in Star Chamber. In 1938 she played Blanche Wallace in Operette at His Majesty's Theatre. Words and Music was later revised as Set to Music, which brought Nugent to Broadway's Music Box Theatre in 1939. Her longest-running Coward role was Mrs Bradman in Blithe Spirit, which she played throughout its entire run of 1,997 performances from 1941 to 1946. Her final role in a Coward work was Miss Scobie in Pacific 1860 at Drury Lane in 1946.

Beyond her work with Coward, Nugent appeared in a wide range of productions. She played Tilli in Lilac Time in 1922 and appeared in Cole Porter's revue Wake Up and Dream in 1929. In the 1930s her credits included Sally Hamil in The New Gossoon at the Apollo Theatre in 1931, Miss Pratt in Nymph Errant at the Adelphi Theatre in 1933, and Essie in You Can't Take It With You at the St. James's Theatre in 1937. She also appeared in Harold French's revue All Clear at the Queen's Theatre in 1939. Her Broadway credits included Gladys in George and Margaret at the Morosco Theatre in 1937. In the 1940s she took on roles including Mrs Finch in Through the Door at the Q Theatre in 1946, Countess Adelaise in The Bird Seller at the Palace Theatre in 1947, May Carey in Castle Anna at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith in 1948, and Miss Ranklin in The Schoolmistress at the Saville Theatre in 1950.

Nugent made three silent films: a 1913 adaptation of The Old Curiosity Shop in which she played the Marchioness, The Lights of Home in 1920 as Sybil Garfield, and The Auction Mart also in 1920. For the BBC she made occasional broadcasts as both a singer on variety programmes and as an actress in light and serious drama, including the popular series Mrs Dale's Diary. She was also heard in radio relays of West End productions in which she was performing, among them All Clear, Blithe Spirit, and London to Brighton. In 1934 she recorded two numbers from Conversation Piece for HMV: "Dear Little Soldiers," with Madie Andrews, and "There's Always Something Fishy About the French," with Heather Thatcher.

Nugent's final stage appearance was in 1950. She died suddenly on 26 January 1954, aged 52, collapsing during rehearsals for a new play, All Night Sitting, at the Cambridge Theatre.