Interview: Director Celia Mandela Rivera of NOËL COWARD’S FALLEN ANGELS
at Little Fish Theatre in Redondo Beach through May 10
Playwright Noël Coward is one of the most celebrated voices of 20th-Century Theatre, known for his sophisticated comedies, sparkling dialogue, and keen observations of social behavior, with his plays always delivering a masterclass in comedic timing and style. Frequently produced worldwide, his plays maintain a strong presence in both professional and regional theater over 50 years after his death.
Little Fish Theatre is presenting Coward’s Fallen Angels, a 1925 champagne-soaked comedy of nerves that follows best friends Julia and Jane as they brace for the arrival of a former lover they once shared. What begins as nervous anticipation quickly spirals into a hilarious unraveling of propriety, fueled by cocktails, confessions, and mounting panic. Meanwhile, their respectable and unsuspecting husbands remain blissfully unaware of the romantic history that threatens to upend their carefully ordered lives.
I decided to speak with the production’s director, Celia Mandela Rivera (pictured), about her background in theatre, what drew her to directing this play, her vision for the characters and staging it in Little Fish's intimate new space and why she thinks its exploration of love, fidelity, and friendship remains as fresh and provocative today as when it first premiered.
Thanks for speaking with me, Celia. First please tell me about your background in theatre, both as a performer and director.
As an actor, I've had the opportunity to work with some great folks at Latino Theater Co., Coin & Ghost, IAMA Theatre Co., Antaeus Theatre, The Vagrancy, Rogue Artists Ensemble, La Jolla Playhouse, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (Regional).
And as a director, I’ve also worked in creative spaces like Deaf West, AMMO Theatre, Coin & Ghost, Boston Court Pasadena, Echo Theatre, IAMA Theatre.
I’m also the Literary Manager at IAMA Theatre company. A Kilroys member, Creator & Co-Founder of @BLKLST_LA; and Co-Author of the L.A. Anti-Racist Theatre Standards.
You have described yourself as “a Black Latinx/Caribbean director, actor, and creative disruptor.” How do you define “Creative Disruptor?”
Creative disruption means disrupting what theatre has historically been practiced as or centered around. That means the spaces I create, the people I cast, my style of collaboration and storytelling can often revolve around a different set of priorities. It also means I will intentionally de-center supremacist practices that folks might think are the ‘normal’ way of doing things.
Director Celia Mandela Rivera (standing far right) and her cast. All production photos courtesy of Little Fish Theatre
Will there be creative disruption in your direction or staging of Fallen Angels? How so?
Oh, absolutely! I think people familiar with Noël Coward will likely have an idea of how the world should feel and look. But I’m interested in the themes and moments that Coward might’ve wanted to tug at more but maybe didn’t feel like he could’ve with an early-mid 20th century audience.
Julia (Samantha Barrios) and Jane (Claudine Pierre-Louis)
Have you performed in or directed any Coward plays previously? If so, which ones and where?
Nope and nope. Which is why I think I feel a sense of freedom and inhibition to Noël’s work.
What drew you to direct Fallen Angels at Little Fish Theatre?
Fallen Angels is 100 years old! And it’s still extremely relevant when it comes to its themes around gender roles, sexual expression, queerness, etc. Maybe now more than ever?! And plus, it’s funny as hell and WE ALL NEED THE MEDICINE OF LAUGHTER given the state of the world right now. I wanted something silly and fun that still had heart and I was overjoyed when Little Fish Theatre approached me about the play.
Best friends Julia (Samantha Barrios) and Jane (Claudine Pierre-Louis) share absolutely everything with each other.
Tell me about the two main characters in it, best friends Julia and Jane, and how their friendship evolves.
Julia and Jane – the J’s as I call them - are essentially like sisters who know everything about each other, or at least they think they do. I think their friendship centers around the enormous love they have for each other. But even the besties have their moments!
Tobit Raphael Capati, EM Davis, Samantha Barrios, Claudine Pierre-Louis, Andrew Ge
Your cast includes Samantha Barrios, Tobit Raphael Capati, Claudine Pierre-Louis, Andrew Ge, Selena Price, and EM Davis. Have you worked with any of them before? If so, on what shows?
This is the first time I’ve worked with all of these amazing actors but I’m sure it won’t be the last! It’s also the first time any of them have worked together with any of the others onstage.
Samantha Barrios, Selena Price, Claudine Pierre-Louis
Have you worked with any of your talented production team previously? Michael Allen (Set Designer), Paula Vanlandingham (Dialect Coach), Ashley Weaver (Stage Manager), James Callaghan (Lighting Designer), Diana Mann (Costume Designer), Doug Mattingly (Sound Designer), Branda Lock (Prop Designer), and Leonora Burke (Production Prop Assistant/ASM).
I first worked with my Stage Manager, Ashley Weaver, last year on a beautiful Afro-Latinx/e show I performed in at Latino Theatre Co. called The Last Play by Rickerby Hinds. She’s an amazingly talented Stage Manager and I definitely wanted to bring her on to this project. And it was wonderful getting to work with the rest of my production team who came my way through LFT. They are all so amazing!
Samantha Barrios, Claudine Pierre-Louis
Are you setting the play in its original mid 1920s “Jazz Age” timeframe or updating it to a later era? Why did you make that decision?
Yes, it’s set in the original era. I think the time period is another character that allows us to play up things like status and comedy. Plus, everyone in my cast could and would exist in this timeframe – but I also acknowledge that this is another act of Creative Disruption: to place a ‘modern’ cast in an era or location that some folks may, at first, have challenges accepting.
(front) Tobit Raphael Capati, Claudine Pierre-Louis. (back) Andrew Ge, Samantha Barrios
Describe your vision for staging it in the totally adaptable black box space at Little Fish. Is it in the round or traditional proscenium staging? And why did you make that decision?
It’s actually in more of a thrust stage with three audience sides. I think the three sides give some great opportunities for stage pictures, as well as playing with a character’s private vs public self. It just makes things dynamic.
How and/or why do you think Coward’s exploration of love, fidelity, and friendship still rings true today?
We all want to feel loved and desired, whether that’s through friendship or partnership or a fling. My perspective on the play is less about fidelity and more about the evolution of our desires and the openness or restrictions we put on them due to social rules.
What do you think might surprise audiences about either its story, the characters, or your staging of it?
I think they’ll be surprised about how real these characters feel and how much they connect to them. Coward can sometimes feel very distant to this current time to some people. But in reality, this play is deeply relatable.
Claudine Pierre-Louis, Samantha Barrios
What do you hope audiences will be talking about on the way home after seeing it?
How absolutely absurd these people are! And how much they appreciated experiencing seeing a show that made them laugh just as much as it asked them to reflect.
Selena Price, Samantha Barrios
Anything else you would like to add about yourself, the play, or Little Fish production?
I’m deeply appreciative of the opportunity to play in Coward’s world. Since the beginning, I felt connected to Coward’s queerness and how much he would have loved seeing us enjoy and inject such earnest modernity into his work a century later. I’m also grateful to LFT and to my cast and designers – all of their collaboration was so necessary. And I’m especially thankful for my husband, Sam, whose selflessness makes the work I do possible.
Thanks so much!
Samantha Barrios, Claudine Pierre-Louis
Noël Coward’s Fallen Angels runs through May 10, 2026, presented by Little Fish Theatre at The Pond, 514 N. Prospect Ave., Suite L-1, Redondo Beach, CA 90277 as follows: Friday, May 8, 2026 at 8:00 PM, Saturday, May 9, 2026 at 8:00 PM and Sunday, May 10, 2026 at 2:30 PM.
Tickets are $37 Regular | $35 Senior | $22 Student (processing fees included), available by calling 310-512-6030; by text 424-203-4707 or online at www.littlefishtheatre.org. Free onsite parking.
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