NT : What's On : Productions : Private Lives
Private Lives
by Noël Coward (1930)
An Intimate Comedy 'I think very few people are completely normal really, deep down in their private lives' AmandaTo mark the centenary of Noël Coward's birth, his passionate and witty love story is presented at the National for the first time.
An immediate hit when it was first staged in 1930, Coward's sparkling dialogue and repartee have ensured the play's popularity ever since.
Set in France in the late 1920s, the plot centres around divorcees Amanda and Elyot, who are honeymooning in the same hotel with their new spouses. Their chance meeting reminds them of why they fell in love, but also why they couldn't live together...
Juliet Stevenson and Anton Lesser were last seen together in the TV drama The Politician's Wife. Juliet Stevenson's other work includes Death and the Maiden (Royal Court) and the film Truly, Madly, Deeply. Anton Lesser was recently seen on stage in Art and in Vanity Fair on TV.
This is actor/director Philip Franks' first production for the National.
Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Cast credits:
: Anton Lesser
: Darlene Johnson
: Dominic Rowan
: Juliet Stevenson
: Rebecca Saire
Production credits:
Director: Philip Franks
Designer: Stephen Brimson Lewis
Lighting Designer: Howard Harrison
Music: Matthew Scott
Choreographer: Marguerite Porter
Fight Director: Malcolm Ranson
Sound Designer: Adam Rudd
Private Lives finished on: 6 September 1999
