Setting 1941 The Condomine’s house in Kent, England over the course of a few days. Act I
Scene 1: A summer evening Scene 2: Later that night after dinner Act II
Scene 1: The next morning Scene 2: The following afternoon Scene 3: An evening several days later Act III
Scene 1: An evening a few more days on Scene 2: Early the following morning
Dr Bradman Toby Newman
n Mrs Bradma ire Eva Derbysh
Elvira Co ndo mine E m mer Wan ine Cha m g o d n rles o Con dom ine Ruth C ichard s Augustus Jackson R a n o I
Ed ith Isabelle Qian
rcati Madam A ärer Malin Sch
Rehearsal Shots
Rehearsal Shots
: the note h t i w k ac tickets b e h t t n e ll s tickets d n e Churchi s e s lea night: p have one.” t s r i f d Noel Coward sent Winston Churchill two tickets to you tten “Can’t a econd night - if the opening of his new play with a letter saying: for s
“Bring a friend - if you have one.”
Rehearsal Shots
Who was Noel Coward? •Noël Peirce Coward was born in Teddington, 16 December 1899. He died 26 March 1973. •He wrote Private Lives in only four days while he was in Shanghai. What a genius! The work was completed in the Peace Hotel penthouse suite in 1930 while fighting off a bout of the flu. •His iconic staccato style voice developed from childhood, his Mother was deaf so he acquired this style of speech to help her understand what he was saying. •Had the Germans conquered Britain in World War Two, he would have been arrested as he was included in The Black Book alongside other notable figures such as Sylvia Pankhurst, H.G. Wells and Virginia Woolf. •Comedian Julian Clary now owns the house in Kent that Sir Noël Coward lived in. •He was a witness at Mr James Bond himself, Ian Fleming's wedding to his wife Ann in Jamaica. •He cast himself as the lovable and charming character Elyot in the original production of Private Lives alongside some little known actor called Laurence Olivier as Victor. •The Albery Theatre in London was renamed the Noël Coward theatre in his honour in 2006. The Theatre has played host to notable productions such as Avenue Q, Much Ado about Nothing and Shakespeare in Love. 'You ask my advice about acting? Speak clearly, don't bump into the furniture and if you must have motivation, think of your pay packet on Friday' - Sir Noël Coward •He became known for the 'Coward Image' - a silk dressing gown and cigarette holder. This became so recognisable that a poster advertising a revival of Private Lives in 1968 used a caricature of Coward rather than an image of the stars of the show! •He was knighted in 1969 and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Rehearsal Shots
Crew Director Caroline Farmer Deputy Stage Manager Tina Liu Sound & Lighting Lee Obersteller Assistant Stage Manager Elena Alegre Leow Emma-Jane Bennett Anavi Puri Supporting ASM’s Hannah Fan Rinny Wu Tiffany Yao Monica Chiang Set Design Caroline Farmer Scenic Art Laura Thompson Joyce Huang Kady Shao Margaret Ellen Olivia Bemis-Driscoll Astrid Bemis-Driscoll
Prop Making Laura Thomson Joyce Huang Kady Shao Costume Research Sophia Alegre Leow Box Office Eventmaster Front of House Margaret Ellen Olivia Bemis-Driscoll Oliver Delalieux Print Marketing Stella Sun Thanks also to Production Support: Carwyn Ball, Helen Bamford, Steven Shen, Kris Han, Lucas Petersen, Xavier Tiam, Ludvig Styrefors Graham Pyper, Alex Lefevre, and Christopher Smith.
Actresses who have played Madame Arcati
Alison Steadman Judi Dench
Penelope Keith Angela Lansbury
Jennifer Saunders Margaret Rutherford