If anything instantly conjures Noel Coward, it is the satin polka-dot dressing gowns, elegant cigarette holders and monogrammed handkerchiefs. One of his actual gowns greets the viewer of this small, excellently choreographed show in the exhibition area of the National's Olivier - worn by a mannequin in a display cabinet and by its owner in a photograph of Coward lounging languidly on a sofa.

Photographs and memorabilia are only part of this fascinating record of the life of Britain's most popular 20th-century playwright. It unfolds through personal memorabilia, old programmes, costumes, paintings, letters and contemporary photographs - from sepia prints of the child actor to iconic Angus McBean portraits and timepiece stills from the plays.

The National Theatre's 1964 production of Hay Fever is recalled here through the gorgeous chiffon dress worn by its leading lady, Edith Evans. Gertrude (Gertie) Lawrence is immortalised in an intimate scene with the playwright in Private Lives (1943) and the Americans Lynn Fontaine and Alfred Lunt appear in Design for Living (1932), and informally, with their close friend at homes in Kent, LA and Jamaica.

Correspondence scattered throughout includes tender, teasing conversations between "Noelie-Boy" and "Larry" (Olivier), and from Winston Churchill, who initiated Coward's Oscar-winning 1942 film, In Which We Serve. A paeon to Lord Mountbatten, it is represented by stills of the heroic leads, Coward and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Off-duty, during the war, the playwright is charmingly unselfconscious playing with children at The Actors Orphanage in Kent.

This show follows Will Young's recent revival of Coward's controversial The Vortex (1924) and anticipates this month's reappearance of Brief Encounter. Lovingly curated, it will thrill every dedicated Noel Coward fan, and be a revelation to newcomers following Young to his idol.

• Until 29 March. Information: 020 7452 3400, www.nationalthreatre.org.uk