Private Lives
Last Update 25-Jan-2008
by - Noel Coward
From 21st January to 26th January 2008
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Presented by - Nonentities (A)Location - Main HouseStandard Ticket PricesCurtain Up 7.30pm |
A prime example of the sophisticated comedies of The Master. Divorced couple Elyot Chase and Amanda Prynne, both recently remarried, arrive in adjoining suites at the same Hotel in the South of France. Two divorcees rekindle their passion until the reasons for their separation become apparent. |
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A classic comedy of bad manners, dry humour and quicksilver sparring that is daringly hilarious, elegantly sexy and contains some of Coward’s most sparkling dialogue. |
DIRECTOR’S NOTESRe-visiting Coward’s most well known play after 20 years, or possibly more, which is when I last directed “Private Lives” for the Nonentities, it is amazing how his portrayal of personal, and thus “private”, relationships remain as sophisticated, amusing, and true as ever. People often think of Coward’s writing as mannered but his excellent, carefully crafted, phraseology perfectly expresses the ethos of his particular era. “Received Pronunciation” was the order of the day: the “cets” “set” on the “mets”, while Bernard Shaw was showing how such accents significantly divided society in his play “Pygmalion!” |
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“Private Lives” will always remain a Classic. It represents its age, just as “Restoration” drama, did in its time, and as the work of the “Angry Young Men “of the late 20th century represented theirs. Coward’s dialogue cleverly conceals, under his use of smart humorous banter, the deep and conflicting human feelings of love and fury. We laugh a lot, thank goodness, but perhaps we also recognise something of ourselves in the quick changes of moods and frustration that hilariously overcome each and every one of his characters at some time or other. It is a play to be enjoyed. We wish you a good and cheerful evening’s entertainment. D. Evans |
