A single-volume edition of one of Coward's masterpieces, published to tie in with major Donmar Warehouse production in December 2002

In The Vortex, Coward explores the darker side of the Cocktail Party set. Emotional blackmail, drug abuse and shattered relationships are minutely observed in this disturbing, early piece from a playwright whose sharp eye was more usually turned towards the light.

This first ever single-volume edition of this frequently revived Coward play ties in with the major revival directed by Michael Grandage, starring Francesca Annis and Chiwetel Ejiofor and Indira Varma at London's Donmar Warehouse.

"Here is a piece which is the dernier cri in the theatrical mode, un peu shocking perhaps, but no less popular on that account" James Agate