He played Curly in Peter Pan at the Palladium at age 13 and appeared in Coward's Words and Music; Sigh No More; After the Ball; and the West End musicals Pacific 1860 and Ace of Clubs. In the 1960s, he assistant directed the New York and London productions of High Spirits as well as many works by Coward. After Coward's 1973 death, Mr. Payn co-wrote "Noel Coward and His Friends"; co- edited "The Noel Coward Diaries" and ran Coward's estate from Switzerland.