Private Lives, Mercury Theatre - Colchester

One of Noël Coward’s best-known comedies, Private Lives showcases his brilliance for sharp wit and sparkling one-liners. The story centres on divorced couple Amanda and Elyot, who, while honeymooning with their new spouses (Victor and Sibyl), discover they are in adjacent hotel rooms. Despite their tempestuous history, they quickly realise they still have feelings for each other.

The opening set, however, was well judged – elegant and evocative of the era – and it transitioned smoothly into the stylish Paris apartment of Act II.

To deliver Coward successfully, a cast must capture the nuances of his writing. With little in the way of plot, the humour lies in timing and delivery. Sade Malone’s Sibyl was portrayed with saccharine sweetness and youthful petulance, though unfortunately let down by a horrendous wig that aged her rather than suited the character. Chirag Benedict Lobo’s Elyot offered a different interpretation, leaning into camp mannerisms and childlike physicality. The performance was heavy-handed, with little sense of the refinement embedded in Coward’s writing.  Opposite him, Pepter Lankuse gave a polished and assured performance as Amanda, though this was somewhat diminished in Act II when the exchanges with Lobo tipped into chaos and lost their subtlety.

The evening’s most assured turn came from Ashley Gerlach as Victor. With crisp diction, spot-on timing, and a perfectly pitched blend of exasperation and earnestness, his performance was both engaging and consistently funny — a welcome anchor amid the turbulence elsewhere.

While re-imagining Coward’s work for a modern audience is both possible and worthwhile, here it sometimes felt strained. The effort to be different occasionally overshadowed the text itself, leaving the production uneven and laboured.

I always listen to other audience members comments while in the theatre and found that many were expressing similar thoughts.