Private Lives (West End) London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (19)
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 like a play with sharp witty screenplay
Don't see it if You know what's coming as it's quite predictable
See it if you want to see a classic funny play
Don't see it if you want spectacle
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 a safely staged version of a Noel Coward classic comedy. You want to see Nigel Havers and Patricia Hodge
Don't see it if you are not after chocolate boxish Home Counties humour. This is faithfully version and of its time which is definitely not 2023.
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 want to see one of Cowards classics performed by an amazing group of actors.
Don't see it if Like fast paced drama as this is a classic play so not fast paced.
See it if Great comedy. Jokes true to life.. laughted throughtout.. great actors.. stage set brilliant.. loved this..
Don't see it if If you hste comedy..
Critic Reviews (9)
"This is a safe and settled delivery of 'Private Lives', but one bristling with chemistry between two beautiful older troupers."
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“Veiled in comedy, the play discusses religion, morality and mortality...It’s a meticulous piece of dumbshow [performed by] consummate pros.”
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“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.”
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“Christopher Luscombe’s witty, handsome revival succeeds because it trusts the material, allowing the profundity to quietly transcend the flippancy.”
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“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.”
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"There might not be anything truly novel in here, but it is hard to knock time spent with such delightfully exuberant actors."
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"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."
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"This is solid and safe as revivals go, but it is another welcome chance to hear Coward’s delicious musings on love, and Hodge keeps us rapt throughout."
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