Private Lives: An Intimate Comedy in Three Acts
by Noël Coward
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On the French Rivera, the lights of a yacht are reflected in the water and in the eyes of four hilariously mismatched lovers. Perhaps Coward's greatest comedy, Private Lives shimmers with wit, romance, desire and bittersweet truth. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Rosalind Ayres, Marnie Mosiman, Ian Ogilvy, Begonya Piazza and Kristoffer Tabori.Tags
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Member Reviews
After Blithe Spirit, Private Lives is Noël Coward’s most famous play, which packed the house in its 1930 West End run, 1931 Broadway run, and many subsequent revivals, several of which won Tony and Olivier awards. The 1931 film adaptation was a great hit. And I don’t get any of this.
I found Private Lives pretty lackluster — despite being so frequently produced: contrived, overblown, and lacking much witty dialogue or message. It doesn’t hold a candle to the less frequently staged but more thought-provoking Design for Living.
I found Private Lives pretty lackluster — despite being so frequently produced: contrived, overblown, and lacking much witty dialogue or message. It doesn’t hold a candle to the less frequently staged but more thought-provoking Design for Living.
I would actually give this book 3 1/2. It is a little less predictable than "Hay Fever" and I think it is an interesting exploration of how intimacy and human relationships can go awry with people so oppositely matched. It's also really amusing to see the back and forth of the twisted conversations that the main characters have. It's hard to tell at some times whether they are going to end up in bed or simply killing eachother. It's sort of like the literary or even conversational equivalent to a roller coaster ride.
A very unexpected favourite. A delightful experience. Hysterically Funny
Phoenix Falmouth
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Author Information
298+ Works 5,605 Members
In 1964, when Hay Fever (1925) was placed in the repertory of the newly organized National Theatre, Noel Coward professed to be grateful: "Bless you for admitting that I'm a classic." A week-long series of Coward played on BBC television in 1969; there have been major revivals in London and New York; plays long out of print have been republished show more in popular collections. At the start of the 1960s, though, Coward's reputation had been at an ebb, as he skirmished with the angry new drama. Coward had enjoyed no big success since Blithe Spirit of 1941. There have been attempts to assimilate the rehabilitated Coward to contemporary drama. Coward himself profited from the new freedom when, in 1965, his Song at Twilight discussed homosexuality, a subject that he had evaded throughout his career. A juvenile prodigy, Coward was by turns actor, director, composer, lyricist, autobiographer, and author of nearly 60 theater pieces. He even wrote screenplays, notably for In Which We Serve (1942) and Brief Encounter (1946). Although he specialized in light comedy, the so-called comedy of manners, he worked in many forms including patriotic spectacle, revue, musical, farce, even the problem play. Hay Fever, Blithe Spirit, and Private Lives (1930) have proved to be the most durable of his comedies, along with nine short plays presented as Tonight at 8:30. In each, characters demonstrate the combination of perpetual role playing, cool hedonism, and energizing self-absorption. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1930
- Related movies
- Private Lives (1931 | IMDb)
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 338
- Popularity
- 93,521
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (3.80)
- Languages
- English, Norwegian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 26
- ASINs
- 11
