No. 1 Fringe Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon
Resident company of the Attic Thatre
Tread the Boards Theatre Company presents the classic Noel Coward comedy Private Lives.
Elyot and Amanda, who were once married, find themselves on honeymoon with their new partners, in the same hotel on the French Riviera, admiring the view from adjoining balconies. Their initial horror quickly evaporates and soon they are sharing cocktails. Who knows what the future holds for them now.
It’s hard to believe that Noel Coward’s play is almost a hundred years old. Noel Coward wrote about the original 1930 production ‘The critics described Private Lives variously as ‘tenuous, thin, brittle, gossamer, iridescent, and delightfully daring.’ The same could be said today and Keith Myers’s production for Tread the Boards Company brings out the best in the play.
Early critics were doubtful that the play could survive its original cast, but Myers, as have many other directors, proves them wrong. Of course it needs a strong cast. John-Robert Partridge as Eliot, Katherine de Halpert as Amanda, Benedict Powell as Victor and Abigail Drennan as Sybil all bring their characters fully to life and are a delight to watch and to listen to.
Adam Clarke’s set is one of Tread the Boards’ most elaborate and detailed with its first half flat of flowered trellis creating curtained access to the two side by side balconies divided only by the planters with flowers. This flat is transformed in the second half of the play into Amanda’s beautifully created 1930s decorated Paris apartment with a lovely black, red and gold backdrop, sofa draped in red, a studded red chair, standard lamp, marble top table, lovely carpets and gramophone. This lovely set is matched by the wonderful period costumes providing clues to the characters of the wearers. Eliot’s suit is free and capacious, Victor’s cream striped close fitting cream suit tightly buttoned almost all the time, Amanda’s flamboyant stylish period costumes inviting extravagant gestures which she does splendidly and Sybil’s dress uncomplicated and pretty.
Partridge and de Halpert convey their characters’ fieriness perfectly showing how hard it is to overcome ingrained behaviours and Myers plots perfectly the parallels between the two couples and between the individuals in the pairs. He makes sure that Victor and Sybil are not just the minor sidekicks to Eliot and Amanda which Coward had in mind. Sybil’s tempestuous weeping and Victor’s fascinating meticulously tended eyebrows make them as memorable as the other two characters. The touch towards the end where Victor has nowhere to sit and has to scrabble about to advance a stool is a lovely one.
Private Lives is Coward at his best. Myers makes sure that the sadness underlying the action (recently made clear at the Stratford literary festival by Oliver Soden’s introduction to his excellent biography of Coward and the choice of material at the recital at the PlayHouse) is there but not obtrusive.
This production is beautifully paced with effectively staged pauses and silences. It’s lovely to look at, too. You enter an atmospheric darkened room anticipating something special. You get it. Watch out, though. There is little light for the audience to enter and exit by. There could do with a bit more.
The Attic Theatre is accessible via two flights of stairs or a lift and is suitable for wheelchair users. Please see the seating plan before making a booking to book the most suitable seats. Please notify us when you make your booking if you require wheelchair access. For more information on access please visit the AccessAble website.
