Noel Coward's Hay Fever is a classic comedy of bad manners about a flamboyant family. The characters of Judith and David Bliss were based on real life friends of the playwright, American actress Laurette Taylor and her husband Hartley Manners. The eccentric couple were renowned for their table manners, surprised guests would often endure shrill arguments -- waged entirely among the family -- which often ended with them storming out of the room, leaving their bewildered guests to make what they could of the rest of the evening.