Last Updated on December 12, 2024
Noel Coward’s Private Lives Opens in The West End with a Cast of Consummate Pros
Theatre veterans Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers have come together in Noel Coward’s absurdist comedy of manners in a fizzing production of Private Lives that highlights the author’s trade mark acerbic wit and eye for hypocrisy. Coward himself and Gertrude Lawrence originally played the parts of Elyot and Amanda when the play first premiered in 1930. Director Christopher Luscombe’s production has been on tour for two years and almost has a valedictory feel to it, as these two fine actors trade insults and blows, with a barbed sense of style that surely can’t be replicated by younger generations of actors.
This classic comedic play revolves around the turbulent love of lives Elyot and Amanda, who were once married to each other but have since divorced. They are unable to live together but can’t live apart. Each of them has just remarried – Elyot to the proper and conventional Sybil, and Amanda to the dependable Victor. The story unfolds as fate brings Elyot and Amanda, along with their new spouses, to adjacent hotel rooms while on their respective honeymoons in the South of France. Old sparks quickly rekindle between Elyot and Amanda, and they impulsively run away together to Amanda’s flat in Paris, leaving behind their bewildered spouses.
Reunited, Elyot and Amanda’s passionate love for each other reignites, but so does their propensity for fiery arguments and they engage in a series of snappy and scathing exchanges. The bemused Sybil and Victor, track them down in Paris, leading to a comical and tumultuous confrontation.
Havers and Hodge although older than the roles as usually cast, are well-matched as Elyot and Amanda with both having terrific energy, immaculate timing and an easy charm. Amanda’s volatile character is very much the focus of this production and she represents the modern independent woman of the time, showing disdain for social conventions, “I’m so apt to see things the wrong way round”, e.g. morals. When she asks Victor how he will feel about her in years to come he says he couldn’t love her any more than he does, Amanda retorts “I did so hope our honeymoon would be progressive”.
Dugald Bruce-Lockheart has a harder job on his hands, playing the staid, predictable, if somewhat dull Victor, but he makes a marvellous job of it. Victor often finds himself caught in the middle of the fraught interactions between Amanda and Elyot. His confusion and bewilderment in the face of their heated arguments and impulsive actions provide comic relief in the play. Natalie Walter’s Sibyl is suitably naive and prim, it’s her presence in the story that drives much of the comedic conflict.
There is an undoubtable pleasure in returning to the escapism of a less complicated world when audiences swooned at the antics of the educated wealthy. Coward’s propensity for fun and humour is endless, from the flirtations to the impromptu Charleston dances to the vicious fights. Elyot and Amanda are completely self-absorbed in their own needs and their world of privilege, and at no time do they show any remorse for their abandoning their spouses.
One can question what value is there in the piece apart from the sparkling dialogue, this very straight-down-the-line, light-hearted production doesn’t touch on the darker themes of domestic violence which were explored in Michael Longhurst’s recent production at the Donmar Warehouse. However, within its dissection of sex, marriage and monogamy, it does contain a bittersweet element to it and still uncovers some of the difficult, truths about relationships. There’s a lot of emotional honesty in Coward’s portrayal of the couples that rings true today. With dialogue that is as sharp as a rapier – even if the sum total of the drama doesn’t amount to much -it’s still a delicious and nostalgic ride.
Ambassadors Theatre,
West St
London
WC2H 9ND
Until November 25
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