Noël Coward’s comedy calls for a mixture of turbulence and dry urbanity, and Richard Eyre’s finely calibrated production of Private Lives exhibits just the right blend of these qualities.
In the key roles, Kim Cattrall and Matthew Macfadyen have what might blithely be termed chemistry — though in fact it’s closer to particle physics, all energetic collisions and strong nuclear force.
Suavely muscular Elyot (Macfadyen) has split from alluring Amanda (Cattrall), and has moved on to Sybil, an altogether less magnetic model. As the action begins, they are honeymooning in a smart French resort — in the room next to Amanda and her new husband, the prissily upright Victor.
Cue a procession of embarrassments, misunderstandings and rapprochements. This is Coward at his stinging best. He’s acidly amusing and supremely worldly, reminding us that second marriages are, as Dr Johnson remarked, "the triumph of hope over experience".
Coward wrote the part of Elyot knowing he would play it, and it’s easy for modern interpretations to parody Coward’s fabled hauteur. But Macfadyen, who looks like a rugby player scrubbed up for a charity gala, gives a performance that’s a mix of steely detachment and waspish repartee. It’s a primer in tart comic timing, and his voice proves an impressively pliable instrument.
Cattrall conveys an arch playfulness and a good deal of flighty yet vulnerable glamour. There’s warmth, too, albeit perhaps not quite enough of it — she’s best in the scenes where she and Macfadyen sprawl and bicker.
As Victor, Simon Paisley Day is a study in anxious pomposity — a weakness that leads Elyot to dub him a "rampaging gas bag" — while Lisa Dillon’s Sybil makes a pleasing transition from paltry ornament to spiky social critic.
Rob Howell’s design is gorgeous: first an elegantly appointed balcony, and then an opulent Parisian interior, complete with triple-decker goldfish bowl and startling sculptural details that are calculated to hint at the circularity of the play’s relationships.
Although it begins on an unexpectedly passive note, this is a satisfying and intelligently conceived production. It’s fluent, very funny and at times dazzlingly well-acted.
Until 1 May. Information 020 7907 7071.
Private Lives
Vaudeville Theatre
Strand, WC2R 0NH
