Noël Coward’s talent to shock made him a star. He wrote the part of Nicky in The Vortex for himself, persuaded the Lord Chamberlain to allow it and staged it at the Everyman Theatre in 1924.

The Vortex’s oedipal theme remains sensational even today, dazzling in a stunning production at the Brighton Little Theatre. All of Coward’s wit and glitter are here, along with the modernist decor and flapper dresses, perfect partners for each other, and even if they date, emotions never do.

Sue Wicks is brilliantly convincing in her portrayal of the faded Florence. Clutching desperately at Warren Saunders’ moronic Tom, she resists sense from her true friend, Helen, a grounded and intelligent performance by Ruth Bailey.

Tobias Clay invests Nicky with subtle charm and deadly cynicism – we never believe he loves anyone but his mother despite the coy flutterings of Rebecca Polling’s Bunty and the bucolic solidity of Alan George Baker as his luckless father.

Hats off to the strong supporting cast who add terrific vitality, sweetening the bitter central theme. Allan Cardew is hilarious as Pauncefort and Samantha Brennan is almost believable as a diva.

Shocking; wonderful.