 |
| John Standing, Maggie Smith. |
 |
| John Standing, Niki Flaks. |
This is Noël Coward’s 1930 high comedy about a divorced couple who
meet after five years while occupying adjoining suites at a Deauville hotel,
where they are honeymooning with their new spouses. Self-described by its
author as a vehicle for sterling acting, its London production had starred Coward himself opposite
Gertrude Lawrence, surely perfect casting. Wealthy ultra-sophisticates
Amanda Prynne and Elyot Chase were now played by Britons Maggie Smith and John Standing to
enthusiastic responses, especially for Smith.
Coward’s polished wit continued to sparkle and stir loud
laughter. Douglas Watt called Private
Lives “an immaculate comedy [that] seems to get funnier each time I see it,”
while Clive Barnes found it “screamingly funny . . . still fresh, and most
surprisingly, still surprising.” “How perfect the play is,” he added, “a
gorgeous, enchanting play.”
 |
| Maggie Smith, Remak Ramsey. |
For most viewers, John Gielgud’s direction was a masterful
evocation of Coward’s nostalgic 1920s charm. Maggie Smith proved a superb
purveyor of the brittle, flashing epigrams. “The tall and slender Miss Smith,
her red hair closely marcelled, and wearing a nifty set of specially designed
clothes, has deadly aim with a Coward line. Using a voice variously produced in
her nose, throat and heel of her evening slipper, and a body as pliant and
darting as an antic mongoose, she is hilarious,” clapped Watt. “[S]he conveys a
special image of woman—self-reliant, entirely self-aware, audacious, . . . all
suffused with a marvelous irony. . . . She is some sort of pagan goddess. . . .
Amanda Prynne . . . is a perfect role for her, and she does it to perfection,”
declared Howard Kissell. But Edwin Wilson thought her over-obvious and
broad, producing farce effects that were not called for. And John Simon was put off by her “mannered” acting and exaggerations.
John Standing’s notices were approving but mild, with no raves, some even considering him miscast. Remak Ramsey played Victor Prynne and Niki Flaks was Sybyl Chase.
This revival came to Broadway following a hit London run and a
four-month American tour.