{"id":4599,"date":"2015-04-07T08:13:39","date_gmt":"2015-04-07T07:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=4599"},"modified":"2016-02-05T19:18:34","modified_gmt":"2016-02-05T18:18:34","slug":"private-lives-bolton-octagon-reviewed-by-sarah-clare-conlon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=4599","title":{"rendered":"<em>Private Lives<\/em>, Bolton Octagon, reviewed by Sarah-Clare Conlon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Private Lives, Bolton Octagon, 26th March &#8211; 18th April<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Noel Coward\u2019s 1930 comedy of manners opens with two honeymooning couples discovering their hotel terraces \u2013 and their exes. Cue the set-up for all kinds of hilarious consequences, plus a glimpse into the new hedonistic way of living \u2013 multiple partners, champagne-fuelled parties, staying up all night dancing\u2026 All good larks, but the problem with <i>Private Lives<\/i> is that it has a lot to live up to following the top-notch production at Manchester\u2019s Royal Exchange four years ago, and starring accomplished actress Imogen Stubbs.<\/p>\n<p>However, while Fiona Hampton\u2019s Octagon interpretation of leading lady Amanda isn\u2019t as cute and coquettish as Stubbs\u2019, she does still get the laughs with her over-the-top performance. The whole thing, actually, is played for effect \u2013 when Victor (Niall Costigan) and Sibyl (Jessica Baglow) arrive at the Paris flat to find Amanda and Elyot (Harry Long) rolling around on the floor fighting, for example, their gaping mouths do overegg the pudding somewhat. There\u2019s so much hamminess throughout, in fact, that we end up losing something of the French maid character, Louise (Chiraz A\u00efch), who <i>is<\/i> supposed to be a tut-tutting, lip-pursing clich\u00e9, aghast at the behaviour of the English jet set. It\u2019s a bit of a shame as Noel Coward\u2019s script doesn\u2019t really need such overemphasis \u2013 the witty one-liners and clever quips and banter speak for themselves, such as the famous \u201cVery flat, Norfolk\u201d joke.<\/p>\n<p>There are some nice touches in Elizabeth Newman\u2019s direction \u2013 I particularly liked the disco ball moment when divorced couple Amanda and Elyot fall for each other again \u2013 music started playing and the stalls were bathed in gently sparkling lights. Up in the rafters, alongside the mirrorball, there was also a spectacular-looking chandelier, but unfortunately I doubt that everyone saw it as it remained firmly above our heads. The set for act one wasn\u2019t particularly inspired, with cheap-looking wrought iron outdoor tables and chairs. The second and third acts, on the other hand, boasted an astoundingly good Art Deco daybed and matching armchair and table, plus a working gramophone, a splendidly selected globe bar and, of course, a piano. Having to play live on stage is a challenge Long rose to well as Elyot, and the singing and dancing from Long and Hampton all carried the fun along (although the fighting seemed a little on the over-choreographed side).<\/p>\n<p>And there <i>is<\/i> much fun and the play <i>is<\/i> enjoyable. The laughs are definitely here \u2013 it\u2019s just that perhaps the audience doesn\u2019t need quite so much help in doling them out.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah-Clare Conlon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Private Lives, Bolton Octagon, 26th March &#8211; 18th April Noel Coward\u2019s 1930 comedy of manners opens with two honeymooning couples discovering their hotel terraces \u2013 and their exes. Cue the set-up for all kinds of hilarious consequences, plus a glimpse into the new hedonistic way of living \u2013 multiple partners, champagne-fuelled parties, staying up all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[283,17],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.2.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Private Lives, Bolton Octagon, reviewed by Sarah-Clare Conlon - The Manchester Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=4599\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Private Lives, Bolton Octagon, reviewed by Sarah-Clare Conlon - The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Private Lives, Bolton Octagon, 26th March &#8211; 18th April Noel Coward\u2019s 1930 comedy of manners opens with two honeymooning couples discovering their hotel terraces \u2013 and their exes. 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