Private Lives (West End) London Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (17)
See it if you like traditional theatres. It’s got everything you hope for classic comedy from intelligent writing to great performances.
Don't see it if you prefer it to be adjusted in line with today’s pc. You may need to remember it was written back in 1930s.
See it if you love classic plays with old fashioned humour
Don't see it if your expecting laugh out loud or big spectacles
See it if You want to laugh with a classic wonderful play
Don't see it if You don't like comedy
See it if You need to have a good sense of humour to understand some of the irony.
Don't see it if You are not cynical and believe in fairy tales.
See it if You enjoy classic theatre
Don't see it if You prefer more action and scenary changes
See it if Performances and they didn't shy away from the traditional script. It is theatre history
Don't see it if a classic piece with attitudes of its time - which do not fit so well into today , may offend you
See it if You like seeing the dynamics of different types of relationships in couples and how ridiculous they can be.
Don't see it if You want something modern.
Critic Reviews (9)
"This is a safe and settled delivery of 'Private Lives', but one bristling with chemistry between two beautiful older troupers."
Read more
“Veiled in comedy, the play discusses religion, morality and mortality...It’s a meticulous piece of dumbshow [performed by] consummate pros.”
Read more
“Nothing remotely as radical is on offer in Christopher Luscombe’s production, which trundles rather than glides towards its tempestuous conclusion... The best of the repartee still sparkles, but I’ll admit that I spent much of the evening admiring the designer Simon Higlett’s Deauville hotel façade and the luscious, semicircular evocation of Amanda’s Paris apartment.”
Read more
“Christopher Luscombe’s witty, handsome revival succeeds because it trusts the material, allowing the profundity to quietly transcend the flippancy.”
Read more
“This production of ‘Private Lives’ was a faithful recreation of a well-loved classic...While I still enjoyed this production immensely, it didn’t feel as slick as it could have been with some real uneven moments letting the overall high quality down. With many fantastic qualities going for it including the chance to see some legendary actors in a relatively intimate theatre, this is still a show audiences are sure to love.”
Read more
"There might not be anything truly novel in here, but it is hard to knock time spent with such delightfully exuberant actors."
Read more
"It’s probably heresy to suggest that this play might not always be quite as witty as it thinks it is. To paraphrase, too much flippancy can be annoying, but stuffiness is worse. For Amanda and Elyot, at their age, life is too short to take things seriously."
Read more
“It seems churlish... given how fleet these two are, how deftly the jokes land, how elegantly they play off each other, to complain, but the wild physicality at the end of Act II is, perhaps understandably, missing.”
Read more