Download MTC EduCaTion TEaChErs` noTEs 2014

MTC EduCaTion
TEaChErs’ noTEs
2014
Noël Coward’s
Private Lives
25 Jan – 8 Mar 2014
Southbank Theatre, The Sumner
Notes prepared by Meg Upton
1
BEFORE SEEING THE PERFORMANCE…
THE EXPERIENCE
In the theatre we share stories which differ from TV, DVD, film, books, magazines, podcasts and other
media. In the theatre stories are told by real people in real time before a live audience. Each
performance of a play is different to any other. It is dependent upon the time, the actors, the technical
equipment and, very importantly, the audience. You can’t re-read a live theatre performance or copy it
to see again and again. Each performance exists only once. The performance you will see of Private
Lives will differ from the one performed before and the one performed after, which makes it special
and unique. Your role as an audience ensures its uniqueness. As students of theatre, you are advised
to carefully prepare to see the production of Private Lives so that you can capture that unique, one-off
experience and be able to reflect on it in detail.
PRIVATE LIVES – SYNOPSIS
Elyot Chase and Sybil, his wife, are honeymooning in France and life couldn’t be more perfect. In the adjoining hotel room Amanda and Victor Prynne are delighting in their own postnuptial bliss. The fact
that Elyot and Amanda were once married to each other isn’t such a big deal. That is, until Elyot and
Amanda unexpectedly meet. Being together again rekindles their feelings and their fire. Fleeing from
their new marriages they run away to Paris. A typhoon of emotions ensues bringing the honeymoon
rapture to a grinding halt.
CHARACTERS
Sybil Chase – a young English woman, early 20s, young, pretty, blonde, smartly dressed
Elyot Chase – an English gentleman, about 30, slim, looking, fashionably dressed
Amanda Prynne – an English woman, late 20s, bright faced, slim figured, attractive
Victor Prynne – an English gentleman, about 32-35, pleasant looking, nicely dressed
Louise – a French maid, 30-40, rather ‘frowsy’ and somewhat melancholy
Cast
Sybil Chase
Elyot Chase
Amanda Prynne
Victor Prynne
Louise
Lucy Durack
Leon Ford
Nadine Garner
John Leary
Julie Forsyth
Creative Team
Direction
Set & Costume
Lighting
Music & Composition
Choreographer
Fight Choreographer
Sam Strong
Tracy Grant Lord
Paul Jackson
Matthew Frank
Andrew Hallsworth
Scott Witt
Production Team
Stage Manager
Julia Smith
2
SETTING and CONTEXTS
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2010/12/6/1291656350472/Gertrude-Lawrence-and-Noe-006.jpg
Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence in the 1930 production of Private Lives
The original setting of Private Lives is an upper middle class English world of the 1930s. With the
exception of the French maid, Louise, all the characters are English and none appear to have what
could be considered ‘an occupation’. The characters can afford to travel, to stay in reasonably luxurious accommodation and to socialise to their hearts’ content. The depiction of such characters on
stage in 1930 is interesting. After the glittering and prosperous decade of the 1920s (The Great Gatsby
is a useful reference here), The Great Depression began in 1929 with the crash of international stock
markets. This led to large scale financial crises and mass unemployment. You may find it useful to
consider the playwright’s intentions here, but also his history as a theatre performer.
Throughout the 1920s, and particularly during the Great Depression of the 1930s, many of the most
popular plays and films were light comedies set among the wealthy, privileged members of "high
society." When such works are associated with the Depression, their appeal is usually ascribed to the
audience's need for escape from their grim circumstances, if only briefly, and only in imagination: they
offered glamorous fantasies of unimaginable luxury, to audiences who were struggling to secure the
bare necessities. Given its upper-class setting and its appearance in the year after the 1929 New York
stock market crash, Private Lives might appear to be such a work of Depression-era "escapism." Yet
when the play was written, the full and lasting effects of the economic crisis were not yet widely
recognized, either in Europe or America.
The specific setting of the play is France. In Act 1 the setting is an upmarket hotel somewhere on the
French Riviera (think Cannes, Nice, St Tropez). In Acts 2 and 3, the setting is an apartment with a view
on Avenue Montaigne located in the fashionable 8th Arrondisement in Paris. Avenue Montaigne
intersects with the famous Champs Elysees, Paris’s major boulevard.
Coward wrote the play in 1930 in only four days. At the time he was suffering from influenza and laid
up in a hotel in Shanghai where he was on tour. Noel Coward wrote about his own world so it is likely
that the setting and characters in Private Lives are based on people Coward either knew or met.
3
Images of the French Riviera circa 1930
PRE-SHOW - IMAGINING THE PLAYWRIGHT’S WORLD - A 1930S AESTHETIC
Adopting any PRODUCTION ROLE use the following links to research and generate an understanding of
what may have been the original design, mood and vision for Coward’s production of Private Lives.
Consider how your PRODUCTION ROLE may influence the way you view and understand the material.
Listen to:
Noel Coward’s ‘Some Day I’ll Find You’ written especially for Private Lives. This wonderful recording of
the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akGOqVgKxzE is sung by Gertrude Lawrence, who played the
original ‘Amanda’ to Noel Coward’s ‘Elyot’.
Go to:
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1920&bih=961&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=gertrude+lawrence+and+noel+coward+private+lives&
oq=gertrude+lawrence+and+noel+coward+private+lives&gs_l=img.3...3594.9432.0.9621.30.20.0.10.10.2.181.1744.13j7.20.0....0...1c.1.32.img
..16.14.425.wnsOwqjSDjs
This link will provide some wonderful photos of Coward and Lawrence in the original production of
Private Lives and insight into the design of that production.
Watch:
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers singing and dancing to Cole Porter’s ‘Night and Day’ which is featured in the production of Private Lives at MTC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV5e7mWcQJE
Especially study the set which depicts an era similar to the original 1930 production.
Check out:
A scene from the 1930s film Swing Time and the song ‘The Way you Look Tonight’ by Cole Porter which is featured in the production of Private Lives at MTC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIW_Ah0wg-w
LANGUAGE
It is useful to consider some of the language, idiom and words of a 1930s British play. The meaning of
words can change over time and other words may slip out of use. Consider the meaning and use of the
following words spoken in the play:
Gay, clacked, weepings and wailings, poorly, shan’t, chivalry, unveiled, row, cad, Chinaman, snivelled, Borax, entrancing, slattern, fishwife, shilly-shallying, gasbag
Which words are still in use but have changed meaning? Which words have been adapted? Which
words may now seem politically incorrect? Which words do you think are no longer part of
contemporary English, at least in Australia?
4
STRUCTURE
Private Lives is a scripted work in three acts. Each act is ‘contained’ in that it takes place in a single setting and in a single time frame (real time). Act I takes place in early evening and Acts II and III in one
evening and a morning. Overall the characters share their lives with us for just several days and this is
indicated in the stage directions at the beginning of Act II which indicate that ‘a few days have elapsed since Act 1’. The director, Sam Strong, has placed an interval at the conclusion of Act 1. Acts II and III
are then performed continuously (see interview with the director below).
THEATRICAL STYLES
Private Lives is most often described as being in the style of a ‘comedy of manners’. Some theatre
commentators describe this style as being one that reflects ‘the life, ideals and manners of upper class
society in a way that is essentially true to its traditions and philosophy’. In a theatre performance of
this style, the actors strive to maintain the ‘mask ‘of social artifice whilst revealing to the audience
what lies behind such manners. In other words it is to make the real artificial and the artificial real.
Other commentators describe the comedy of manners as a form of ‘sophisticated comedy’, usually set
among the fashionable upper classes, in which the characters’ faults and foibles, motivations and
intentions, are veiled or masked by their elegant manners and elaborate repartee.
Historically, the genre can be traced back to the Greek New Comedy but in its modern form was
essentially created by French playwright Molière in plays such as The Imaginary Invalid (1660). It then
became popular in England after the Restoration in such plays as Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer
(1773) and Sheridan’s The School for Scandal (1777).
The ‘elegant wit’ of the comedy of manners was revived in the late 19th century by Oscar Wilde in
such plays as Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). In the 20th
century some of the plays of Noël Coward, such as Private Lives (1930), belong to this genre.
The conventions of ‘comedy of manners’ include the satirizing of the upper class, witty dialogue, the
use of farcical moments, and comic plots often concerned with scandal which are generally less
important than the witty dialogue itself.
Adapted and developed from: Jonathan Law (ed) The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre (London, 2011)
Coward on Private Lives and its ‘style’
While Coward is known for his witty dialogue, his work is relatively short on quotable "punch-lines" or
one-liners, the kind of which define the comedic style of writers like playwright Neil Simon (The Odd
Couple) and filmmaker Woody Allen (Annie Hall). The humour of ‘Private Lives’ depends greatly on its
expert stagecraft and carefully-balanced construction. In his introduction to the anthology ‘Play
Parade’, Coward modestly describes the play as "a reasonably well-constructed duologue for two
experienced performers, with a couple of extra puppets thrown in to assist the plot and provide
contrast." This self-deprecating assessment points to two of the playwright's strengths: his awareness
of the abilities of the "experienced performers" with whom he worked, and his attention to contrast
and symmetry. Coward often used actors he knew, he often tailored his fictional characters to match
his thespians personalities and physical traits, and he paced his dialogue to fit these.
Source: http://www.noelcoward.net/html/home.html
PERFORMANCE SPACE and ACTOR/AUDIENCE RELATIONSHIP
Private Lives is performed in a proscenium arch configuration in the Southbank Theatre, Sumner,
which allows both the set and the actors to be framed within the playing space. The Sumner is a very
contemporary proscenium arch theatre, quite different in design and aesthetic to other proscenium
arch theatres you may have been to, such as The Regent, Her Majesty’s or The Princess. 5
Private Lives makes use of the width, depth and height of the Sumner. Specifically the production
design makes use of the Sumner’s REVOLVE to create a rotating playing space for the actors.
Below is a seating map of the auditorium in relation to the stage, and following that is a panoramic
image of the Sumner looking towards the stage from the back of the auditorium. By having some
understanding of the style, size and aesthetic of the theatre, you can begin to consider how the
possibilities of the space may impact on the interpretative choices and on the actor/audience
relationship.
Interior of the Sumner, Southbank Theatre, from rear of the auditorium
6
THE PLAYWRIGHT – Noel Coward (1899-1973)
Source: http://www.rugusavay.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Noel-Coward-Quotes-5.jpg
NOEL COWARD – Theatrical style, contribution to Britishness and British Theatre
Noel Coward virtually invented the concept of Englishness for the 20th century. An astounding
polymath - dramatist, actor, writer, composer, lyricist, painter, and wit -- he was defined by his
Englishness as much as he defined it. He was indeed the first Brit pop star, the first ambassador of
"cool Britannia." Even before his 1924 drugs-and-sex scandal of The Vortex, his fans were hanging out
of their scarves over the theatre balcony, imitating their idol's dress and repeating each "Noelism"
with glee.
Born in suburban Teddington on 16 December 1899, Coward was on stage by the age of six, and
writing his first drama ten years later. A visit to New York in 1921 infused him with the pace of
Broadway shows, and he injected its speed into staid British drama and music to create a high-octane
rush for the jazz-mad, dance-crazy 1920s.
Coward's style was imitated everywhere, as otherwise quite normal Englishmen donned dressing
gowns, stuck cigarettes in long holders and called each other "dahling"; his revues propagated the
message, with songs sentimental ("A Room With A View," "I'll See You Again") and satirical ("Mad Dogs
and Englishmen," "Don't Put Your Daughter On the Stage, Mrs. Worthington"). His between-the-wars
celebrity reached a peak in 1930 with "Private Lives," by which time he had become the highest
earning author in the western world.
SOURCE: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002021/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
COWARD’S INFLUENCES: British Theatre
The English musical revue (1910s-1930s) became the era’s most vital, influential and innovative form of musical theatre which honed the skills of librettists and playwrights and stretched the versatility of
its stars (including Gertrude Lawrence). Revues consisted of songs, playlets and sketches and often
promoted the latest dancing or music crazes in the 1930s even playing host to the new ballet. The late
1910s and early 1920s proved lucrative for key producers of these shows and producers often rebuilt
the theatre interiors, adding new stage machinery (theatre technologies) to create the spectacular
shows. Revue veterans such as Noel Coward went on to create and star in a new wealth of British
plays with music in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
7
It was not only the structure of the theatre system that defined what was produced but also the style
and content of the plays. ‘The drama is an aesthetic phenomenon, the theatre is an economic proposition’ (James Agate) acutely exemplifies the gap that apparently had opened up between
theatre as glamorous entertainment for profit (the revue), and theatre as the realization of dramatic
texts with stylish narratives and serious meanings.
Adapted from - The Cambridge History of British Theatre: http://books.google.com.au/books
PRIVATE LIVES and CENSORSHIP
In Britain, the Lord Chamberlain is a representative of the senior office of the Royal Household.
Historically, The Licensing Act 1737 gave the Lord Chamberlain the statutory authority to veto the
performance of any new plays. He could prevent any new play, or any modification to an existing play,
from being performed for any reason, and theatre owners could be prosecuted for staging a play (or
part of a play) that had not received prior approval.
This act was replaced by the Theatres Act 1843, which restricted the powers of the Lord Chamberlain
so that he could only prohibit the performance of plays where he was of the opinion that "it is fitting
for the preservation of good manners, decorum or of the public peace so to do".
In 1930, rehearsals of Noel Coward’s Private Lives were under way when the Lord Chamberlain took
exception to the Act II love scene between Amanda and Elyot, labelling it too risqué in light of the fact
the characters were divorced and married to others. Coward went to St. James's Palace to plead his
case by acting out the play himself and assuring the censor that with artful direction the scene would
be presented in a dignified and unobjectionable manner.
The veto duty afforded The Lord Chamberlain was abolished under the British Theatres Act 1968; the
first London performance of the musical Hair was delayed until the act was passed after a licence had
been refused.
Adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Chamberlain
ACTIVITY: Censorship
Consider the notion of ‘censorship’ in theatre and why it may occur. From your reading of the script of Private Lives:
- What aspects of Act II in Private Lives do you think The Lord Chamberlain may have objected to?
- In a 21st century context, what aspects of Act II in the play could be regarded as ‘risque’?
- Is the meaning of this Act contained in its presentation, in the subtext or both? Discuss.
PREVIOUS PRODUCTIONS - REVIEWS and OPINIONS
NOEL COWARD ON PRIVATE LIVES
The critics described ‘Private Lives’ variously as 'tenuous, thin, brittle, gossamer, iridescent, and
delightfully daring'. All of which connoted in the public mind cocktails, repartee and irreverent allusions
to copulation, thereby causing a gratifying number of respectable people to queue at the box office
OTHERS ON PRIVATE LIVES
Of all Coward's plays, ‘Private Lives’ remains the most pristine, elegant example of his art. It is
deceptively simple. "Minimal as an art deco curve," wrote John Lahr of The New Yorker, "Private Lives
matched its content: a plotless play for purposeless people." In that, the play has the ability to sum up
the restless spirit of Coward's era. ‘Private Lives’ finds its power in the hangover of a new decade, as
the 1920s tipped into an uncertain future. This chamber piece seems to exist in a vacuum, a kind of
stylised limbo, lacking consequence or context. And yet it also hints at something darker in its
characters' interior lives, and that of its creator's – both concealing and revealing at the same time.
8
Like so many of Coward's plays – and like his own life – ‘Private Lives’ hides more than it gives away. It
says as much in its sly title, and even more so in its intriguing subtitle, An Intimate Comedy.
Read more at: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/private-lives-how-nolcowards-drama-about-champagnefuelled-hedonists-retains-its-cocktail-power-8683807.html
If one could save only a single Coward play for posterity, it would have to be ‘Private Lives’ (1930).
Though Coward described it as “the lightest of light comedies”, the piece is a marvel, a work that transcends its period setting and still proves startlingly fresh, funny and unexpectedly moving. It needs
to be played with the most delicate of touches, with speed, intelligence and style, but in really good
productions, like this one, there is depth to the comedy, too, and a sense of darkness beyond the
laughter.
Source: http://www.cft.org.uk/private-lives#-Reviews
Coward’s barbed masterpiece calls for actors who can express themselves in a rich variety of ways, and Chancellor serves up a mix of imperious elegance and bohemian weariness, with more than the odd
touch of slinky danger. Stephens switches deftly from villainous virility to a clown’s extravagance, and from petulance to a suave drawl. Despite possessing some of the smoothness of a matinee idol, he’s a superb comic actor – not unlike Hugh Grant, though with a more careless-looking hairdo and not as
much bumbling adorability. I can’t recall having seen him give a better performance than he does here.
Source: http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/theatre/private-lives-gielgud-theatre--review-8687127.html
ACTIVITY: Reviewing the reviews
Having read the descriptions and reviews of different productions of Private Lives consider the
following:
What insight do the reviews and opinions give you about the play, particularly its style?
Is there an inclination by the reviewers to be equally as ‘witty’ as Noel Coward in their own use of
language? If so, why might they do this?
THE MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY’S PRODUCTION OF PRIVATE LIVES
INTERVIEW WITH SAM STRONG, DIRECTOR, AND MATTHEW FRANK,
COMPOSER, PRIVATE LIVES
To begin, Sam, would you talk about the choice of this play; why Noel Coward, why Private Lives, a
British play from 1930?
Sam: The starting point for me is the gap between the Private Lives that exists in people’s memory and the Private Lives that is the actual play. I think the one that lives in the memory is possibly a stuffy, oldfashioned, and possibly quite camp version; all cigarette holders and smoking jackets, all style and
form and not much substance, and possibly a museum piece. What struck me when I read the script,
was that Private Lives was a very contemporary text, particularly in its nastiness. People might
remember it as a comedy and rather frothy. It is indeed a comedy but it has a very dark streak. A
phrase I have used to describe it is an in-your-face-play that lurks within a comedy of manners’ body. What made the play feel interesting and particularly contemporary for me is the inherent nastiness,
the intensity of its violence, as well as the way it examines relationships. While these are characters
that are bound by a particular social code, you have in Elyot and Amanda (particularly in the second
act) two characters that face the challenge of sustaining love, particularly romantic love. The play
interrogates that theme; do you opt for love that is safe and comfortable like the Sibyl and Elyot, and
9
the Amanda and Victor model, or do you opt for something that is incredibly destructive but burns
fiercely and brightly? I think that question and the play’s interrogation of that question makes it feel
very contemporary. So the starting point for me is the contemporary feel that the play offered.
Matt: I think the writing is extraordinary. The script is timeless. Sitting and watching the actors
delivering this beautiful text, makes you realize there is no reason not to do this play. It is a classic in
terms of Coward’s wit and insight with regard to being human and being in a state of love. I think students should be able to experience this type of text and writing.
Coward’s writing has also been described as ‘witty’, full of ‘repartee’, and often ‘elegant’. Do you have other comments to make about the structure and language of the play?
Sam: Timing is everything in Coward. Comic timing is difficult and the challenge for us is to find that
timing but also reveal the substance. If actors are just playing comedy, or the social mask, then that
becomes uninteresting. If actors are just playing the subtext or the substance of the play, then you lose
the comedy and lose the style. So it’s a delicate balance and you can’t have one without the other. As a director, in the rehearsal room you need to find one before the other; you need to find the substance
or find the detail of what’s going on sub-textually before you can conceal it beneath the style. That’s an ongoing process.
Some of the words from the script tend to signify its era and period. There is no swearing in the play
despite the ‘grittiness’ and we often associate swearing with ‘gritty’ contemporary theatre or television.
Matt: The characters don’t swear, but when they say ‘Shut up!’ it jumps out as being quite violent. The language in the play floats along and then suddenly becomes very rough and you don’t need swear words.
These are characters that have the time and resources to travel around the world and in the middle
of a depression. Who might be a 21st century Elyot and Amanda or Sibyl and Victor?
Sam: The equivalent of that now would be ‘celebrities’, but the type of celebrity who doesn’t work but is still incredibly rich. The characters in the play are incredibly rich and also very idle. I think there is
something interesting about the original context for the play, which was where the rich and famous at
the time went to holiday. This play sits in a genre of beautiful but destructive relationships, going back
to Shakespeare’s Beatrice and Benedict or Katherine and Petruchio, George and Martha from ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?’, possibly the characters in the film ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’. So it’s a timeless aspect we are attracted to; two people in an intense relationship but who are fundamentally wrong for
each other.
Matt: There is also something about people with too much time on their hands and who need to
create dramas for themselves. They don’t have work or children, and in their idleness they begin to
bicker and fight. There is a moment in Act II when Amanda asks Elyot to take her to all the places he
has visited. If they stopped arguing at that very moment and went to bed or left and got on a train,
there would be a different outcome. Perhaps when they do eventually walk out of the door at the end
they do indeed get on a train but between them there is always this fire. It is one that I think they love!
They love stinging each other and they get great joy from doing so.
Sam: And that is what the audience recognizes, that people can be very mean to those they love,
especially in long-term relationships. One of the things we have tried to capture in the set design
through the use of the stage revolve is that these characters are in a kind of ‘loop’. That holds true at end of the play when we see that Sibyl and Victor have become Amanda and Elyot, while Amanda and
10
Elyot have gone off to perhaps do it all again. So the idea that things are bound to repeat themselves is
something we have tried to capture in the specifics of the design, and also within the imagery of the
show.
There has been a very recent and very successful production of Private Lives by Chichester Theatre
that transferred to the West End in London. What research and dramaturgy have you both engaged
with in terms of this production?
Sam: Chris Mead, the Literary Director of MTC, has worked with us as dramaturge. On a pure script
level, as Matt was saying before, there this is something quite unnervingly perfect about this script. I
remember Chris and I having a conversation where we mentioned that if we were inclined to change
anything - which we wouldn’t do anyway – but if we were approaching this purely as a contemporary
play would we cut anything? The answer to that was a resounding ‘no’! So in terms of editing or rearranging the text we don’t need to do anything like that.
Matt: We did discover another edition of the text in which we found an additional monologue in
French for the maid, Louise. This was quite a delightful find given we have such a great actor in Julie
Forsyth. So, we thought why not include it?
Sam: There are a few different versions of the script out there so one of the things that Chris was
involved with was looking at the very subtle variations between the versions. They are so small and
subtle so the biggest change was the additional French monologue for the maid.
Sam could you elaborate on the design and vision for the show
Sam: The first underlying principle of the design was to capture the beauty and opulence of the world
the characters inhabit. You can’t do a Private Lives unless it is set in a world that has the elegance and
beauty of the original. So there was something in the idea of opulence and grandeur for myself and for
Tracy Grant Lord (set and costume designer) that was a little ‘unfashionable’, especially in a era where set and costume design tends to be contemporary and minimalist. It is nice to do something that is big
and architectural in its set and formal and elegant in its costume design. One of the things that Tracy
and I discussed was to ensure the costume was as impeccable and as beautiful as possible as it is so
rare to see people dressing that way these days.
Another principle was to present a version of Private Lives that would surprise the audience. A lot of
people know the play very well and they equally know its locations, which are adjoining beach-front
apartments, and a luxury apartment in Paris. You can’t actually do the play without these features. However, if you’ll pardon the pun, we wanted to put a modern ‘spin’ on the play by putting the three acts of the play on a revolve, so the audience can see behind the façade and a further into the private
lives of the characters. The world of the play is built around beautifully symmetrical entrances and
exits but we wanted to amplify that with some flare and that is the function of the revolve. During an
argument we sometimes follow people through different parts of the balconies and apartments. We
begin Act II outside the Parisian apartment and the revolve allows us to then move inside. The
principle is to capture the endless loop that is present in the play and in the relationships between the
characters. It’s a way of bringing some flare to the staging and it also enables us to supplement the narrative. In some ways it is also quite filmic.
One of the features of Noel Coward’s plays is that he writes very elaborate stage directions. A key point of investigation for the students is to analyse if and how they are interpreted. Sam, it sounds
like you have made very interesting choices with regard to interpreting these.
11
Matt, Noel Coward references the use of romantic tunes in the script without specifying what these
are except for one song. How are you approaching the music and composition in this production of
Private Lives?
Matt: We are book-ending the show with the song that Coward wrote for the play ‘Some Day I’ll Find You’. We then move into songs from a range of eras that are instantly evocative with their melody. I
think different generations will relate to particular pieces of music immediately. My approach is taking
the contemporary songs and working them musically so they all sound like they are from the 1930s or
have a 1930s sensibility - like a smart chamber orchestra of that time. So characters will burst into
songs by Elvis, Bob Dylan or John Legend ala 1930s and it is fun! We have opened the palette and
asked ourselves; what do we want to use in the show and then how will we make it fit musically? A
young audience may be quite surprised to hear how contemporary songs are melded into the show.
We don’t exactly move into a musical theatre genre but sometimes a character will be singing a song that says something about the internal life of the character as it can in musical theatre. It isn’t specifically presentational in that way though.
It has been great to experiment with the way music can flavor particular moments, such as the end of
Act One where Sibyl and Victor are left alone on stage. The moment and the text are quite poignant
and we heighten that further by moving into a particular piece of music and developing Coward’s intentions even further.
Sam: I’m very lucky to be working with Matt who has strong musical theatre experience and I
appreciate that as a director. This approach may sound quite radical but in fact the direction musically
is picking up on the cues that Coward has already placed within the play. We are talking about a writer
who shamelessly wrote contemporary romantic songs (contemporary for his era) into the text. He
wrote set pieces where people sat at a piano and sang. We have asked ourselves – how do we do that
for ‘now’? How do we create a bridge between when it was originally set and the present through the
music? By ranging musically across the decades we aim to construct that bridge.
Matt: It is great fun to have Amanda break into a Kylie Minogue song but sing it as if it is the 1930s in
presentation. Certain audiences won’t know the song but will appreciate the style and other audiences will recognize the playfulness. So music exists within the characters’ world and also acts as a bridge or
segue between scenes and acts.
I notice on the rehearsal blog [http://www.mtc.com.au/interact/blog/2014/01/private-livesrehearsal-wrap/] that the actors have been walking around speaking in ‘received pronunciation’(RP), a recognized standard British accent.
Sam: It’s perfectly possible to do Coward with our own Australian accents. It is also possible to do Coward in a highly advanced and stuffy version of received pronunciation in a way that makes the play
feel much older than it is. For me, the choice to use a standard RP accent is because of the rhythms of
the language that Coward has written. His comedy works much more effectively using RP and also the
world of the play makes sense with the accent. The key is to make that accent simply the way in which
the characters speak. I think that where some productions of Coward have erred is when the accent
sounds overly formal. Yes it is quite formal but it is natural. We’ve been really lucky to work with Leith McPherson, voice and dialect coach. We have all been speaking in RP in the rehearsal room but with
the specific objective of using the accent to create a bridge between 1930 and now. The audience
won’t hear a version of Laurence Olivier doing Mr Darcy in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ which now sounds
incredibly fruity.
Matt: That style is a bit like the Queen. It’s also very difficult for actors to stay at that level for the entire time.
12
Sam: Contemporary RP speakers now have the influence of what’s called ‘estuary’, so it’s not formal
enough. We are pitching somewhere in the middle. This provides a wonderful opportunity for the
accent to dovetail nicely with where we want the play to sit stylistically.
Just while we are considering style, how would you describe the theatrical style or styles present in
this production?
Sam: One of the great challenges for me about theatrical style is that you can’t describe theatrical style in the abstract. Theatrical style can only be recognized or identified when you are looking at
something, when you have something in front of you. You can use all sorts of adjectives to describe
style. You might call it heightened, absurd, or naturalistic but that’s not as useful as sitting in front of actors, watching them and deciding whether what they are doing is too natural or too heightened. So
style in Private Lives is a delicate balance, particularly as the different acts suggest different styles. Act I
is much more for public presentation before Amanda and Elyot reconnect. Act II is what we would
associate now with contemporary naturalism with a fourth wall – it is two people talking in their
apartment, less ‘proscenium’ than Act II. Act III then veers back to Act I stylistically and pushes into
something more farcical. You have in the one play a sort of cocktail of theatrical styles, and across the
acts you are transitioning between styles. This makes it challenging for the actors and for the creative
team.
The best guide to style for me is doing it, seeing it, and then you can answer the questions around
what kind of style you want. For me it is trial and error. In Act I we are experimenting with the right
degree of what I would call ‘social mask’. Some of the actors when we first began rehearsing were very casual and relaxed with each other, too much so. They needed to find more of a ‘social mask’, less familiar.
Matt: When you see the right style or approach it you recognize it though.
Matt, is the ‘received pronunciation’ is carried through into the singing?
Matt: Yes it is most of the time. Australians would normally sing with a slight American accent because
of the way we have heard many of the songs. Taking all these songs and putting RP on top of them is
actually a lot of fun. We are using an Adele song and while she does have a British accent, putting RP
over her words is refreshing. It then becomes about the character, rather like musical theatre where
songs are concerned with the internal journey of the character. It is pulling the songs into the world of
the play.
Sam, is there an interval and where have you placed it?
Sam: There is an interval. We are observing an interval between Act I and Acts II and III. In part the
conceit of the revolve is built around the observation of that interval. We like the idea that we ‘curtain’ the end of Act I, and that Act I is a self-contained entity. Then Acts II and III, both of which are set in
the Paris Apartment, we roll continuously. We’ve managed to structure that transition of revolve movements that take the audience from Act II to Act III. To keep the momentum of the play but to
ensure that the staging has some dynamism and flare and some surprises.
Each act has its own self-contained time, real time in fact. Would you agree?
Sam: Yes, it’s very contemporary play writing. To be writing not just some closed time but also closed
space pieces, so the action happens not just in real time but also in one space such as a room or a
balcony.
13
Sam how will the lighting design work with the revolve and the design aesthetic?
Sam: Lighting a revolve is quite tricky, just ask Paul Jackson (lighting designer)! In Act I, the revolve has
the balconies on one side and the interiors of the hotel rooms on the other. We only see the interior of
the hotel rooms in motion, as they revolve. They are not as literal as the balconies so they will be lit
accordingly. It is a low light level show, the first act being in moonlight and the second act an interior
so it is a great chance to do something that is quite unfashionable, something that is sculptured and
beautiful. The revolve is also designed to be able to flood the apartment interior with light the morning
after the carnage of the fight. The set is a combination of silver and gold, which we are calling ‘gilver’. So it is a metallic texture that takes light really well and will be quite varied in its texture as a result.
What about costumes? Do they have a similar colour palette to the set?
Sam: The costume palette has evolved a little and we are now injecting some colour with the principle
that the costumes need to also bridge the eras; capturing the essence rather than the detail. We are
interested in opulence, elegance and beauty. We will nod to the 1930s but we won’t recreate it in a museum-like way that may be off putting for a contemporary audience. We have asked the question;
what is the best way to represent this world and then how do we suggest the era? We can remove the
worst excesses of the era while maintaining the beauty and integrity of the period. The men are more
monochrome while the women have a representative or unified colour palettes, Amanda in reds and
Sibyl in turquoise/aqua, which are built around the complexions of the actors.
Matt, would you talk a bit about the pianos as set pieces?
Matt: The MTC Workshop has built two grand pianos for this production which is an astounding job,
and there are some wonderful reveals around the pianos that I won’t give away save to say that they are central to some of the scenes, both musically, as set pieces.
One of the ideas that crossed my mind as I read the play was the current debate around marriage.
Do you think the play makes a contribution to this debate?
Sam: I think the play comments on a couple’s compatibility which is notwithstanding a couple’s gender
and sexuality. I think there is something interesting in Coward’s own homosexuality and understanding that in the 1930s, this was not considered ‘appropriate’. In considering the circumstances of Coward’s life, his writing of this play and the notion of what is ‘appropriate’ behaviour make it a very contemporary examination of relationships, sexuality and gender.
Matt: Was Noel Coward married or did he remain single? I know that Cole Porter (the composer) was
married even though he was homosexual, and he and Coward were good friends.
Sam: I know he had several female platonic friends and several older female mentors.
Matt: It would be very interesting in a festival setting to see Private Lives performed with an all male
or all female cast. I think it would resonate very well, in the same way that Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Company’ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_(musical)], a musical about relationships, is going
to be produced in the US with an all male cast. Interpretations like these really go to the heart of the
productions.
Sam, with one week to go until you move into the theatre, at what point are you in the rehearsal
room?
14
Sam: I like to think that a play will find its own rehearsal rhythm and the beauty of being a director is
that each combination of individuals and casts create their own rhythm. You can’t really take the rules you applied to the last show and apply them to the next. In terms of our rehearsal schedule and the
progress of staging the play, we are in a good spot. Working on material that is both comic and dark it
is so beneficial to be working in a really lovely ‘rehearsal room’. This, without exaggeration, is one of the nicest, rehearsal rooms I have been in because of who the cast and creative team are.
Matt: I agree. It is an extraordinary group of actors who are brilliantly cast. At the first read through I
felt certain about the combination. You can relax from the start.
Sam: Coward has written such ‘types’. What’s fascinating for the actors is that when you are playing these ‘types’ well you are realizing them in all their three-dimensionality and depth. If you have actors
who can do that, then they cannot only play the comic timing but imbue that with a complexity that
makes it very interesting.
Extract from Cast and Creative Team interview for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald
Voice coach, Leith MacPherson, speaking about on ‘received pronunciation (RP)
McPherson says Coward’s language has particular challenges for the modern actor. ‘‘Speaking like Coward is a bit like learning to dance like Fred Astaire,’’ she says. ‘‘These characters speak quickly and wittily. This language sparkles on the page and needs to trip off the tongue. It’s more than a technical vocal challenge: Coward’s characters are people who should dress impeccably, act impeccably (whether they do is a big part of the play), and also speak impeccably – it’s a fundamental part of who they are.’’
McPherson describes RP as a social accent strongly associated with class and education, rather than
being geographically specific; and to master it, Australian actors have to ‘‘hit the vocal gym’’. ‘‘That’s what we’ve been doing: a lot of articulation exercises to make the language crisp, and voice work to
develop the beautiful, rich tone that accompanies this accent. Coward’s writing demands fine vocal work and when you bring a great voice to the writing, it fully comes to life – and so do the
characters.’’
READ THE FULL INTERVIEW (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) AT:
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/stage/thoroughly-modern-noel-cowards-private-lives-2014010930jdy.html
15
AFTER SEEING THE PERFORMANCE…ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION
VCE Unit 3, Area of Study 3, Production Analysis requires students to analyse and evaluate an
interpretation of a playscript in a production. Students’ analysis and evaluation of the production is informed by work undertaken in Areas of Study 1 and 2. The Key Knowledge and Key Skills guide their
response:
Key Knowledge
 The contexts of the interpretation of a written playscript
 Decisions taken that were evident in the productions to interpret the written
playscript for performance
 The application of acting and other stagecraft to develop the written playscript for
performance
 Theatrical styles in the written playscript and in the play in performance
Key Skills
 Analyse ways in which the contexts of a written playscript were interpreted through
performance to an audience
 Evaluate the interpretation of the written playscript for performance
 Analyse and evaluate the application of acting and other stagecraft to develop the
written playscript for performance
 Discuss similarities and differences of theatrical styles between the playscript and the
play in performance
IMPORTANTLY your response needs to use appropriate theatrical terminology and expressions
CONTEXTS AND THE WORLD OF THE PLAY
Private Lives is a British play from the 1930s
 From your reading of the script what was noticeably ‘British’ about the play?
 From your viewing of the play what was noticeably ‘British’ about the performance?
 Did you feel familiar with the world depicted in the script and in the performance?
 How does the world of this play differ from an Australian context?
What struck me when I read the script, without having seen a production, was that ‘Private Lives’ was a very contemporary text – Sam Strong, Director
The script is timeless…It is a classic in terms of Coward’s wit and insight with regard to being human and being in a state of love – Matthew Frank, Music and Composition
 Do you agree with the director and the composer?
 What is contemporary about Private Lives?
The equivalent of ‘now’ would be celebrities, the type of celebrity who doesn’t work…the characters in the play are incredibly rich and also very idle – Sam Strong Director
 Who might be contemporary versions of Amanda, Elyot, Sibyl and Victor?
 Discuss possible equivalents and then consider if the play could be re-contextualized to
accommodate these contemporary versions. Where would it be set?
STRUCTURE AND NARRATIVE
The plot of Private Lives takes place across ‘several days’. It is a play structured on the page in three acts and performed as two
 As you watched the play how is the timeline of ‘several days’ made clear? How does stagecraft assist in creating the passing of time?
16



What is the purpose of an interval/s in theatre? Is an interval/s indicated in the script for
Private Lives? Where?
Discuss the positioning of the interval in the MTC production of Private Lives. Could it have
been placed elsewhere? Could there be more than one?
Evaluate the overall structuring of this production – was the staging of the three acts with one
interval successful in generating interest, tension and comedy?
We’ve managed to structure the transition of the revolve moments to take the audience from Act II to
Act III. To keep the momentum of the play – Sam Strong, Director
 Discuss the way the use of the stage revolve enable the two acts to run continuously. Was it
effective? Was the momentum maintained?
[Private Lives] is very contemporary play writing. To be writing not just some closed time also closed
space pieces, so the action happens not just in real time but also in one space – Sam Strong, Director
 What is the director referring to here? How does time work in the play?
 Evaluate the effectiveness of having action take place in a single setting
 Discuss the effect of closed time and closed space on the actor/audience relationship
 Analyse and evaluate the role of the stage revolve in creating time and place
The idea that things are bound to repeat themselves is something we have tried to capture – Sam
Strong, Director
 Consider the plot of Private Lives
 At what point do we enter the characters’ lives? At what point do we leave?
 What ‘happens’ in the play? Are moments repeated? For whom? Why?
 Discuss how the stage revolve enhanced or supported the plot and narrative
THEATRICAL STYLES
Private Lives has been described as a ‘comedy of manners’ whereby the aim is to make ‘the real artificial and the artificial real’. Sam Strong, the director, refers to this as ‘social mask’. Use the
following script extract to analyse, evaluate and discuss the concept of ‘real’ and ‘artificial’. The scene is in Act III and Sibyl and Victor are trying to make sense of their respective spouses’ behaviour:
 What does the script suggest is going on in this scene? What is the subtext?
 Consider how this scene was interpreted to the stage. What aspects of ‘comedy of manners’
were present? How was ‘social mask’ conveyed’?
17
One of the great challenges for me about theatrical style is that you can’t describe theatre style in the abstract. Theatrical style can only be recognized or identified when you are looking at something in
front of you – Sam Strong, Director
 Do you agree with this statement?
 Can we talk about and describe the conventions of particular theatrical styles in the abstract?
 Before you saw Private Lives had you ever seen a ‘comedy of manners’? Did it surprise you? Was it what you imagined such a theatrical style may be?
Private Lives is a delicate balance…Act I is much more for public presentation…Act II is what we would associate now as ‘contemporary naturalism’ with a fourth wall. Act III then veers back to Act I stylistically and pushes into something more farcical…a cocktail of theatrical styles – Sam Strong
 Discuss the ‘presentational’ style of Act I – select particular examples and moments
 Discuss the director’s description of Act II being ‘contemporary naturalism’. What do you consider are the conventions of such a style? Again, select particular examples and moments
 What aspects of Act III contained elements of Farce?
And yet it also hints at something darker in its characters' interior lives, and that of its creator's – both
concealing and revealing at the same time. Like so many of Coward's plays – and like his own life –
Private Lives hides more than it gives away – review of the play
 How does the style of the play enable it to ‘conceal’ and ‘reveal’ at the same time?  Discuss how the style of the play enables the exploration of ‘something darker’ in the characters’ lives.
18
LANGUAGE
‘‘Speaking like Coward is a bit like learning to dance like Fred Astaire,’’ she says. ‘‘These characters speak quickly and wittily. This language sparkles on the page and needs to trip off the tongue. It’s more than a technical vocal challenge: Coward’s characters are people who should dress impeccably, act
impeccably (whether they do is a big part of the play), and also speak impeccably – it’s a fundamental part of who they are.’’ – Leith MacPherson, Dialect Coach
 Compare the script on the page with the vocal delivery in performance
 Discuss how one character used language in a particularly ‘witty’ manner
 Discuss the ‘pace’ of the delivery of the language. How did it contribute to creating the world of the play?
 As a member of the audience, did you find it challenging to listen to the text? Explain/Discuss
Amanda and Elyot determine that ‘Solomon Isaacs’ is the code to stop bickering and remain silent
 Analyse one of the more ‘silent’ moments in the play
 Discuss the absence of spoken text. What else was going on? What other ‘languages’ were
being used?
The director comments that he chose to have the actors use ‘received pronunciation’ or RP …because of the rhythms of the language that Coward has written. His comedy works much more effectively
using RP and also, the world of the play makes sense with the accent.
 Discuss how the script on the page suggests accent or a particular delivery by an actor.
 Select some particular lines as examples of particular ‘rhythms’ that you feel Noel Coward has included
 Discuss this choice in some detail. You may like to combine it with your discussion on ‘acting’ and ‘characterisation’
 Evaluate the choice to use RP. Do you agree that within the world of the play it ‘made sense’?
 Could you imagine the play with Australian, American or other accent? Why/Why not?
 Perhaps try reading out some scenes using RP and then another accent.
DIRECTION
Timing is everything in Coward’s work. Comic timing is difficult and the challenge for us is to find that timing but to also reveal the substance –Sam Strong, director
 Select some key moments of comic timing – perhaps one from each act
 Discuss how the direction impacted on the comic timing in these moments
 Evaluate the role of the stage revolve in enhancing comic timing
Comedy, social mask, subtext – It’s a delicate balance and you can’t have one without the other – Sam
Strong, director
 Analyse the scene between Elyot and Amanda in Act I when they expectedly meet
 Were there moments where one of comedy, social mask or subtext was strongest?
 Were there moments when all three were working in balance?
Sam Strong, director, states that he wanted to put a modern ‘spin’ on the production by …putting the
three acts on a revolve so that the audience can see behind the façade and further into the private lives
of these characters.
 Discuss Sam’s direction of the actors on the REVOLVE
 What do you notice? How are certain moments crafted and potentially very carefully directed?
 Does the direction of these moments provide greater insight into the characters’ lives?
 Evaluate the choice to use a revolve and the challenges and opportunities it offered to the
director.
19
Use the following script extract to compare the script on the page with the DIRECTION of the scene
in performance. This extract is in Act I when Amanda and Elyot are trying to decide what to do now
they have rekindled their love.
[Scene from end of ACT I, the hotel room terraces]
ACTING
In Private Lives the actors are crafting their performances using accents, gestures, facial expressions,
social behaviours of the time such as smoking and drinking, and with an understanding of ‘social mask’ (private versus public behaviours).
Analyse the first scene we see between Amanda and Victor.
 How to the actors use mannerisms or gestures? What is unique to each character?
 How does the act of smoking contribute to character? Does each character have a smoking
‘style?
 How do the actors navigate the terrace/balcony? What is the ‘blocking’ or ‘direction’? How does it establish their relationship?
In a recent interview, actor Nadine Garner (Amanda) commented as follows:
[Coward’s] brand of comedy is almost a choreography of language, each retort and punch line
demanding of its performer a high degree of technical precision. It's as demanding and thrilling as
improvising. Getting those things technically accurate is thrilling.
Read more at: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/creation-in-the-moment-20140109-30k0z.html



Discuss the use of vocal skills in by actor Nadine Garner
What did you notice about the ‘technical precision’ of her delivery?
How did this precision assist in establishing the character of Amanda?
20
Sheridan Morley said of Coward: "He understood better than anyone the elliptical twin-level technique
. . . having a character say one thing but thinking and meaning something entirely different."
 Analyse the first scene between Sibyl and Elyot
 Are there moments in this scene where either character is saying one thing but meaning
something entirely different?
 How do the actors use their voice, expression, gesture, pause etc to create this ‘sub-text’?
Musician and composer, Matthew Frank, comments that: It’s been great to experiment with the way music can flavor particular moments such as the end of Act I where Sibyl and Victor are left alone on
stage.
 The two characters begin to sing a song, rather awkwardly at first
 Discuss how the delivery of the song contributes to the creation of their characters in that
moment
They love stinging each other and they get great joy from doing so – Matthew Frank, Musician and
Composer
 Discuss the violence that erupts between Amanda and Elyot, particularly towards the end of
Act II.
 How is this interpreted to the stage? Physically? Vocally?
 Do you agree that the characters get great ‘joy’ from their altercations?
 Is there a darkness or drama to them? Does the mood shift?
 How do Nadine Garner and Leon Ford use their acting craft to create these scenes?
In Act II, Amanda and Elyot dance a tango.
 Discuss how the actors executed this moment
 How did it act as a commentary on their relationship?
 Discuss the possible complexities involved in speaking lines, using an accent, dancing a tango
and maintaining the characters
The director, Sam Strong, suggests that Act II contains moments of ‘contemporary naturalism’ and that Act III ventures into moments of ‘farce’
 Discuss the conventions of both naturalism and farce
 Analyse the quieter moments between Amanda and Elyot. What is ‘naturalistic’ about them?  How do the actors use their expressive skills to potentially convey a more naturalistic style?
Using the script extract below, analyse the opening to Act III when Louise, the maid, enters the
apartment and discuss how it ventures into FARCE
21
DESIGN STAGECRAFT
SET and PROPERTIES
The first underlying principle of the design was to capture the beauty and opulence of the world the
characters inhabit – Sam Strong, Director
 Comment on whether you feel the set captured the desired beauty and opulence of the world
of the characters
 Discuss the use of colours and textures
 Analyse and evaluate how the set referenced the 1930s
 Make a list of particular set pieces that you felt were of the era, and others that were more
contemporary
Another principle was to present a version of Private Lives that would surprise the audience – Sam
Strong, Director
 Discuss how the set design generated ‘surprise’.
 Were there particular ‘reveals’? What were these?  How did they build tension both dramatic and comic?
 For instance towards the end of Act I when Amanda and Elyot are planning their escape?
The principle of the revolve is to capture the endless loop that is present in the play and in the
relationship between the characters – Sam Strong, Director
 How does the set design act metaphorically or symbolically in the production?
 How does it mirror or represent the relationships between the characters?
The world of the play is built around beautifully symmetrical entrances – Sam Strong, Director
 Explore how ‘symmetry’ was used in the design for the production
 Is the suggestion that all relationships have a symmetry to them?
22
The MTC workshop has built two grand pianos for this production…they are central to some of the scenes both musically and as set pieces – Matthew Frank, Music and Composition
 Discuss the role of the pianos in this production
 Why are they ‘central’? How does their presence contribute to the theatrical style of the
production?
 What happens to the piano in Amanda’s apartment? Was this a surprise?
Some of the key properties used in the production are: cigarettes, cocktail glasses, luggage, the
gramophone and records, telephones, works of art.
 Discuss how particular props were located in the space
 Analyse how certain props were used by particular characters
 What other props did you notice and why?
Discuss the set items that were practical versus those that were set ‘dressing’ in this production of Private Lives.
MUSIC/SOUND
We are book-ending the show with the song that Coward wrote for the play ‘Some Day I’ll find You’. We then move into songs from a range of eras - Matthew Franks, Music. Some of the music included in
the production is: Night and Day, The Way you Look Tonight, I’ll be right there waiting for you, Burn for You, Why don’t you stay, Blame it on the Boogie
 Did you recognize any of these songs or pieces of music?
 When were they ‘placed’ within the show?
 How does their placement reflect what happens in the SCRIPT? Are there differences?
 How does music contribute to the narrative and plot of the production?
My approach is taking the contemporary songs and working them musically so they sound like they are
from the 1930s – Matthew Frank, Music
 How does Matthew Frank achieve this? What types of ‘arrangements’ have been created?
 Do they indeed sound like they are from the 1930s?
We don’t exactly move into a musical theatre genre but sometimes a character will be singing a song that says something about the internal life of the character – Matthew Frank, Music
 Select a moment in the production you saw where a character is singing a song that comments
on the moment.
 There are several examples in Act II when Elyot is at the piano in Amanda’s apartment
How do we create a bridge between when it was originally set and the present through music? By
ranging musically across the decades we aim to construct that bridge – Matthew Frank, Music
 Discuss this comment
 Did the music assist in creating a bridge?
 Did it feel part of the 1930s? Did it feel contemporary? Did it assist in situating or
contextualizing the production?
What other sound and music choices have been made for this production?
 Are there any sound effects? When?
 Is there any use of diegetic sound?
 Is there sound or music meant only for the audience?
23
LIGHTING
Lighting a revolve is quite tricky, just ask Paul Jackson! – Sam Strong, Director
 What type of planning would a lighting designer need to do to light a production that included
a revolve?
 What did you notice were the challenges?
It is a low light level show, the first act being in moonlight and the second act an interior – Sam Strong,
Director
 Discuss how lighting created a sense of moonlight
 Analyse the lighting in the apartment in Act II – how effectively did it capture the interior?
 What did you notice about the temperature, tone, direction, and intensity of the lights in these
two acts? Give specific examples
The revolve is designed to be able to flood the apartment interior with light the morning after the fight
– Sam Strong.
 How did the lighting ‘flood’ the apartment at the beginning of Act III?
The set is a combination of silver and gold – gilver – a texture that takes light really well – Sam Strong,
Director
 Would you agree? What did you notice about how light worked with the set, its colours and
textures?
COSTUME, HAIR and MAKE-UP
The costume palette has evolved a little…we are interested in opulence, elegance and beauty - Sam
Strong, Director. Consider Act I which includes characters in – travelling clothes, a negligee, evening
suits and evening gowns
 How did the aesthetic of the designs capture the ‘opulence, elegance and beauty’ that the director is talking about above? Use very specific examples
 Discuss how hair and make-up complemented the costumes, especially the more formal
evening attire
 Analyse and evaluate how the costumes in this scene established – character, class, the world
of the play
We will nod to the 1930s but we won’t create it in a museum-like way – Sam Strong, Director
 Discuss how certain costumes worn by particular characters referenced the 1930s
 What aspects could be considered more contemporary? Why?
Consider the character of the maid, Louise, played by Julie Forsyth
 How did her costume, hair and make-up assist in establishing her character, class and culture?
 How would you describe her character in contrast to the other characters?
The men are more monochrome while the women have a representative palette – Amanda in reds and
Sibyl in turquoise/aqua which are built around the complexions of the actors – Sam Strong, Director
 Discuss how this comment provides insight into how a costume designer undertakes the
planning and development of their design area.
 Analyse and evaluate the colour palette of the costumes and how they worked with the set
and lighting
24
THEATRE TECHNOLOGIES and STAGE MANAGEMENT
Theatre technologies is a new production area for 2014. As a class spend some time discussing this
term and then discuss
 What theatre technologies were hinted at in the script?
 What theatre technologies were used in the production?
 Comment on the stage revolve as a central piece of ‘theatre technology’
 What practical challenges would it offer – planning, developing, and in performance
Consider the role of the stage manager in this production.
 How would the set design and staging contribute to defining the SM’s role?
 As the SM is ‘calling’ this show, what challenges do you think it offers?  How would the SM’s role be supported backstage and by whom?
THEMES AND IDEAS IN THE PLAY
Discuss the following extract:
Domestic Violence in Private Lives
Back in the 1930s, it may have been common in romantic stories for women being violently grabbed
and tossed around. (Think of the famous scene in Gone with the Wind in which Scarlet fights Rhett as
he takes her upstairs to the bedroom, against her will.) Noel Coward was not trying to endorse
domestic violence, but it's hard not to read the script of Private Lives without applying our 21st
Century views regarding spousal abuse.
How hard does Amanda strike Elyot with the gramophone record? How much strength does Elyot use
to slap Amanda's face? How violent is their ensuing struggle. These actions can be played for slapstick
(Three Stooges), dark comedy (War of the Roses), or - if the director so chooses - this is where things
can suddenly become quite serious.
Most productions (both modern and from the 20th century) keep the physical aspects of the play lighthearted. However, in Amanda's own words she feels that it is "beyond a pale" to strike a woman
(though it should be noted that in Act Two she is the first to use violence; therefore she seems to think
it fine for men to be victims). Her words during that scene, as well other during other moments in Act
One when she recounts her tumultuous first marriage, reveal that, despite Amanda's infatuation with
Elyot, she is unwilling to be submissive; she will fight back.
Source: http://plays.about.com/od/plays/a/Finale-Of-private-Lives-By-Noel-Coward.htm
I think the play comments on a couple’s compatibility which is nothwithstanding a couple’s gender and sexuality – Sam Strong
 What comment does Private Lives make about relationships?
 Does it have a contribution to make to the current debate about marriage?
INTERRELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER AREAS OF STUDY IN VCE THEATRE STUDIES
Theatre Studies Unit 3 – Outcome 1: The Production Processes
As well as an analysis of the interpretation of a playscript to performance, seeing Private Lives can also
assist your understanding of the different production stages that you need to address (AOS1) and in
Theatrical Interpretation (AOS2). So, layering a different lens over the interview, read through the
interview with Sam Strong and Matt Frank, and analyse which parts of their responses and discussion
relate to:
 The Production Planning including developing initial concepts
25

The Production Development including exploring and trialling approaches to achieving
production aims
Now consider which aspects of the interview or other information you have read about this production
that reference the production Presentation stage including:
 Bump-in, technical/dress rehearsals, performances, bump-out and evaluation
Theatre Studies Unit 3 – Outcome 2: Theatrical Interpretation
The following excerpt is the stage directions for the opening of Private Lives. Adopting ONE of the
following production roles – Acting, Direction, Sound, Lighting, Costume, Set, Properties, Stage
Management OR Publicity – annotate the stage directions in three places, drawing on the directions to
provide concepts or ideas for your stagecraft area.
FURTHER RESOURCES:
The play contains one of Coward's most popular songs, "Some Day I'll Find You". The Noël Coward
Society's website, drawing on performing statistics from the publishers and the Performing Rights
Society, ranks it among Coward's ten most performed songs:
When one is lonely the days are long
You seem so near
But never appear
Each night i sing you a lover's song
Please try to hear
My dear, my dear
Chorus:
Someday I'll find you
Moonlight behind you
True to the dream i am dreaming
As i draw near you
You'll smile a little smile;
For a little while
We shall stand
26
Hand in hand
I'll leave you never
Love you for ever
All our past sorrow redeeming
Try to make it true
Say you love me too
Someday I'll find you again
Can't you remember the fun we had?
Time is so fleet
Why shouldn't we meet?
When you're away from me days are sad;
Life's not complete
My sweet, my sweet
Source: http://www.lyricstime.com/noel-coward-someday-i-ll-find-you-lyrics.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5hGTUgkA4A
Recorded at the Chichester Theatre Festival in 2012, Philip Hoare, author of a highly regarded
biography of Noel Coward, goes on a biographical journey into Private Lives to reveal some of the
complexity underneath.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENnTgnkS7Dc
Act III, argument between Elyot and Victor from Chichester Theatre Production 2012.
PRODUCTION IMAGES:
Nadine Garner and Leon Ford in 'Private Lives' (Photo: Jeff Busby)
27
Lucy Durack and Leon Ford in 'Private Lives' (Photo: Jeff Busby)
Nadine Garner and John Leary in 'Private Lives' (Photo: Jeff Busby)
28
Lucy Durack in 'Private Lives' (Photo: Jeff Busby)
Opening Act 11 set from ‘Private Lives’ (Photo: Jeff Busby)
29
Nadine Garner and Leon Ford in 'Private Lives' (Photo: Jeff Busby)
30
Julie Forsyth in 'Private Lives'
31
Lucy Durack, John Leary, Nadine Garner and Leon Ford in 'Private Lives' (Photo: Jeff Busby)
John Leary, Nadine Garner and Julie Forsyth in 'Private Lives'
(Photo: Jeff Busby)