Private Lives

A major revival of Noel Coward's comedy Private Lives in London starring Kim Cattrall and Matthew Macfadyen and directed by Richard Eyre.

"This is a gorgeous, glorious production of Private Lives... all four principals are superb"
The Daily Mail

Having divorced five years ago, Elyot and Amanda are aghast to find themselves sharing adjacent suites whilst both honeymooning with their new spouses. But nostalgia,music and moonlight soon enflame old passions and they find themselves flirting with disaster in this comic masterpiece of modern love and second chances.

"I think very few people
are completely normal really,
deep down in their private lives"

Set in France in the late 1920s and first performed in 1930 by Noel Coward himself, with Gertrude Lawrence and Laurence Olivier, Private Lives remains one of Coward's wittiest and most popular comedies.

"Terrific fun and wickedly well-constructed" The Times

The cast for Private Lives in London features Kim Cattrall as 'Amanda' and Matthew Macfadyen as 'Elyot' along with Lisa Dillon as 'Sybil' and Simon Paisley Day as 'Victor' and is directed by Richard Eyre.

"A classy revival, expertly staged by Richard Eyre" The Guardian

"Richard Eyre's production, constantly shifting and alive, soars beyond silky comedy. Above all, it shows a quartet of characters lit up by an unexpected mixture of calculation and brutal instinct... Eyre's production pulls off both gorgeousness - Kim Cattrall curls up, sloe-eyed, in a velvet dressing gown - and slapstick: the mayhem in a Paris apartment leads to exciting spouts from Rob Howell's ingeniously designed multi-tiered aquarium. It shows glamour turning into panic: the gauze curtains in front of which the couples pose to show off their loveliness become, as they try to escape from each other, terrible entangling snares. And it shows actors who are at their peak when piqued." The Observer

"Richard Eyre's terrific new production" The Daily Telegraph

"Matthew Macfadyen picks up on the sour and bullying streak in Elyot, yet he offers few compensating qualities. With no flashes of raffish humour in his glazed eyes, he comes across as a boorish stuffed shirt... Kim Cattrall demonstrates more flair for physical comedy, flinging herself on the ottoman with wonderful, petulant abandon. Unfortunately, straining to sustain an upper-crust English accent, she delivers many of her speeches in a monotonous sing-song. Though luminously beautiful, she hardly delves below the surface emotionally... Still, the joy of Coward revivals is that his repartee sounds surprisingly fresh, naturally sparky. There's also fun to be had when Cattrall and Macfadyen tussle furiously, trashing the pied--terre." The Independent on Sunday

"This production has a rather workmanlike, repertory company feel to it. But it just about works thanks to some goodhumoured if not especially sophisticated playing from its stars Matthew Macfadyen and Kim Cattrall... It is, of course, one of the Master's most-quoted works and the problem with words that have become quite so familiar is that unless they are delivered with some panache or, at least, meticulous care, they start to sound camp and arch. Here they do mostly sound camp and arch, but nothing, it seems, can ever obscure how beautifully written and structured a play this is and what a devastating critique it amounts to of relationships. The play may have sparkled a lot more in the past, but it remains a gem." The Sunday Telegraph

Private Lives in London at the Vaudeville Theatre previewed from 24 February 2010, opened on 3 March 2010 and closes on 1 May 2010.