Laughter at noon before the Empire's sun sets

Mad dogs and Englishmen Go out in the midday sun The Japanese don't care to The Chinese wouldn't dare to Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly From twelve to one But Englishmen detest a Siesta . . .

What better way to go out with a bang rather than a whimper? What better way to close the book on a Far Eastern empire than to doff one's cap at that most quintessentially English of humorists - the inimitable Noel Coward? Composer, actor, librettist, satirist and lots of other -ists, the whimsical Coward did his bit to put Hong Kong on the traveller's map with the immortal, witty ditty Mad Dogs And Englishmen - inadvertently bringing forth two downtown bars as progeny in the process - which refers to the curious tradition in these parts of firing a cannon at midday.

He also made a more personal connection with the place on one of many visits by actually firing the noon-day gun, that immutable symbol of imperial influence . . . for another week or two anyway.

So as the keys to the store are handed over, the Queen's Cafe Company rings out the old with two of Coward's short comedy dramas: Red Peppers and We Were Dancing.

Both are set in Coward's heyday of the 1930s, with the former a wry look at life on stage and behind the scenes in the English theatre, and the latter rife with adulterous exchanges overheard in a Hong Kong country club. 'It's all terribly British - and very 30s,' director Linda Dunn said.

'All that sticking to the etiquette and never letting the manners drop. These days you'd probably just whack somebody in the mouth! Either way, some of our audience will no doubt recognise themselves.' Dunn, an actor and choreographer, is a Queen's Cafe stalwart turning her hand to directing for the first time. She is also a Coward aficionado who has long hankered after bringing his blase spirit and double-edged wit to a stage of her own.