Private Lives

Broughton Players, established in 1946 and based at Preston Playhouse, have a long standing reputation for producing high quality drama for the local community. Their commitment to a varied repertoire, from classical favourites to contemporary works, reflects a society that understands both its heritage and its audience. On Friday 13th February at Preston Playhouse, they presented Noël Coward’s Private Lives, and far from being an omen of bad luck, Friday the 13th proved decidedly fortunate for them.

Private Lives, first performed in 1930 and written by Coward in just a few days while staying in Shanghai, is regarded as a sophisticated and demanding comedy.  Originally starring Coward himself alongside Gertrude Lawrence, it is a play that depends on razor sharp timing, wit, and cast chemistry. This play is less about plot and more about rhythm, if the pace falters, the piece can quickly become static or self indulgent. For an amateur company to tackle Coward is ambitious, to do so with a cast of only five, and with much of the action resting on two performers for extended periods, requires confidence and assured direction.

The play centres on divorced couple Elyot and Amanda, who coincidentally find themselves honeymooning with their new spouses in adjacent rooms at a hotel in Deauville, France. Old passions reignite, they impulsively run away together to Paris, and the ensuing acts explore the volatility of love, ego, and incompatibility wrapped in Coward’s signature wit. Beneath the sparkling dialogue lies a surprisingly modern examination of toxic attraction and emotional immaturity.

Director Anne Marie Flood deserves credit for ensuring that the production never felt static. With extended duologues dominating the script, it would have been easy for the action to stagnate, yet movement was carefully choreographed and the flow remained natural throughout. The cast used the space intelligently, maintaining pace and tension so that the text felt alive rather than recited. The overall concept cleverly blended more contemporary set design ideas with traditional elements, while still retaining the spirit of 1930s sophistication.

Ben Perkins as Elyot Chase was excellent. Elyot is a complex character, charming, vain, temperamental, childish, and irresistibly magnetic. He requires an actor capable of switching from languid nonchalance to explosive volatility in an instant. Ben carried the role with stamina, being on stage for significant portions of the evening. His timing was superb, his delivery crisp and effortless, and his physicality matched Coward’s clipped elegance. He was the standout performance of the evening.

Tara Kennedy’s Amanda Prynne matched him with equal energy and sophistication. Amanda is witty, impulsive, emotionally reckless, and every bit Elyot’s equal. The chemistry between Tara and Ben was palpable and entirely believable, which is crucial in a play that hinges on a fiery romantic dynamic. Their exchanges sparkled, and their more volatile moments felt authentic rather than forced.

Rachael Soar as Sybil Chase captured the character’s youthful enthusiasm and slightly naïve self assurance. Sybil can easily become shrill or one dimensional, but Rachael avoided this, bringing warmth and sincerity alongside flashes of insecurity and frustration as her honeymoon unravels.

Adam Mayne’s Victor Prynne was played with measured composure. Victor is often portrayed as stiff and pompous, and Adam leaned into the character’s controlled exterior and underlying indignation effectively. His restraint provided a useful contrast to the emotional fireworks of Elyot and Amanda.

Anna O’Hanlon as Louise, the French maid, had less stage time and spoke entirely in French, yet she made a memorable impact. Her physical comedy brought welcome levity, and there was something reminiscent of the flustered, hesitant domestic figures seen in classic Victoria Wood sketches, she reminded me of Julie Walters’ wonderfully awkward waitress characters, in the careful, slightly exaggerated mannerisms she employed. It was a small role played with confident comic awareness.

Collectively, the cast gelled well. There were no moments where the pace dipped or the action felt dull, no small achievement in a dialogue heavy piece such as this.

The first act was set on the terrace of a hotel in Deauville on a summer’s evening. The set, designed by Christine Kennedy, was colourful and fairly simplistic on first reveal, utilising contemporary style frames to suggest doors and windows. While it was not always immediately clear what each frame represented, the visual effect was striking and adaptable. The garden furniture used to imply the hotel balcony looked suitably elegant and in keeping with the calibre of establishment portrayed.

Scenes two and three shifted to Amanda’s flat in Paris. Though many of the same framing elements were reused, additional furniture pieces, including a chaise longue, successfully differentiated the space. The overall look was bright and stylish.

Costumes, overseen by Rachael Soar, were well chosen and contributed hugely to the glamour and period feel of the piece. The ladies’ cocktail dresses in particular were excellent, elegant, flattering, and very much in keeping with the era and the social status of the characters. The only slight exception was Amanda’s final outfit of a white blouse and red skirt. It may well be an outfit a woman of the period could have worn, but it stood out as more modern in silhouette and overall feel, and felt a little odd against the otherwise consistently polished, costuming for such sophisticated characters.

Lighting, by Anthony Leadbetter, Mark Pickles and Stephen Lawson, ensured the stage was clearly visible and well lit, with some coloured backlighting adding depth. However, the lighting remained consistently bright across all three scenes. More variation in intensity or tone to reflect time of day could have enhanced atmosphere and mood significantly. Thoughtful lighting design can elevate a production by subtly guiding audience focus, shaping emotional tone, and reinforcing narrative shifts. A little more intentionality here would have made an already strong production even more polished.

Sound was generally clear, with the cast projecting well throughout. As the performers were not amplified, vocal clarity relied entirely on their own technique, and for the most part this was well maintained. The sound effects were very well executed, with gentle musical underscoring used at key moments that never overwhelmed the dialogue or distracted from the action. A recurring gramophone record cue, which was put on and taken off several times during the performance, was particularly effective, each transition syncing perfectly with the onstage business. The sound design and operation, managed by Stephen Hall, Georgia Gilbert and Victoria Martin, supported the production confidently and with careful attention to detail.

This was clearly a well-coordinated effort from a committed team, with Chris Gray as Stage Manager, Christine Odlum on Continuity, Christine Kennedy and Jane Tudor on Properties, Chris Gay overseeing Set Transition,  Josh Verbic and members of the society responsible for Set Building, all supporting Anne Marie Flood’s direction.

It was a pity that the house was not completely full, as this production deserved it. Nevertheless, the audience present responded warmly and appreciatively, with laughter in all the right places and sustained applause at the curtain call.

Overall, this was a confident, well paced and thoroughly enjoyable production of a notoriously difficult play. Noël Coward is not easy to get right, particularly for amateur companies, but Broughton Players rose to the challenge with assurance. With strong direction, excellent chemistry at its core, and a standout central performance, Friday 13th proved anything but unlucky.

 

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