Sidmouth Summer Play Festival - Private Lives

Many theatregoers will be familiar with the initial premise of Private Lives – bitterly divorced couple Amanda and Elyot have coincidentally booked adjacent hotel rooms joined by a balcony while on holiday with their new spouses.

The period feel of the play is expertly created. The set is the epitome of 1930s elegance as is everything else about the production, including costumes, cocktails and dancing in silk pyjamas.

Amanda, played by Claire Amias is languid and glamorous, whilst Steve Blacker-Barrowman's Elyot is louche and handsome. Even before they connect, it's clear that they are less than perfect marriage material, each treating their eager-to-please new partners, Sybil played by Holly Ashman and Victor played by Charlie Bryant extremely shabbily.

Their initial meeting is played with an excellent sense of comedy, as is their subsequent light-hearted banter. It soon becomes clear that this dysfunctional couple are addicted to each other - as Elyot declares, 'There's not a particle of you I don't know, remember and want'.

As the play continues it takes a darker direction, with the dynamic between Elyot and Amanda shifting from tempestuous, venom-filled bickering to outright warfare. Thoughout all this excellent support is provided by Holly Ashman and Charlie Bryant – a pair who reveal that they have far more dynamism and depth than might originally have been imagined. The four main players bounce off each other and have excellent chemistry. Bridget Lambert as the French maid Louise also provides an excellent comedy turn.

Even in the 1930s Private Lives was seen as an abrasive, morally complex play rather than an entirely light-hearted one and Elyot's assertion that 'some women should be struck regularly, like gongs' isn't the sort of remark that raises much of a laugh these days. But overall this is a dark comedy of manners, expertly played.

Private Lives is at the Manor Pavilion theatre Sidmouth from Monday 11th-Saturday 16th September 2023. For bookings go to https://www.manorpavilion.com/home