https://media.podcasts.ox.ac.uk/humdiv/torch/post_show_conversations/2022-05-25-torch-psc-private-lives.mp3
A TORCH Post-show Conversation podcast about the Nigel Haver's Theatre Company's Private Lives.
This conversation was recorded between Dr Sos Eltis and Professor Kirsten Shepherd-Barr on 3 March 2022 at Oxford Playhouse. It explores the context of the play, their immediate responses to the adaptation, the opportunities and challenges thrown up by the production's casting and much more.
TORCH Post-show Conversations is a series of informal, on location conversations between Oxford researchers in response to a current theatre production. Designed to capture 'on the night' responses to performance, the Conversations give listeners a chance to eavesdrop on the intersections between research and theatre practice, and give researchers the opportunity to respond in real time to the best of theatre. Variation in sound quality comes from recording in public spaces or in transit. A full transcript will be available in due course, in the meantime please contact TORCH if you have any questions about this conversation.
About the play:
Noel Coward’s Private Lives starring Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers. A new production, directed by Christopher Luscombe, and the inaugural show from Nigel Haver’s own production company.
'Elyot and Amanda, who were once married, find themselves on honeymoon with their new partners, in the same hotel on the French coast, admiring the view from adjoining balconies. Their initial horror quickly evaporates and soon they are sharing cocktails. Who knows what the future holds for them now…'
The play was written by 20th century British playwright Noel Coward, who played the role of Elyot in the original production in 1930
About the contributors:
Dr Sos Eltis is an Associate Professor in the English Faculty at Oxford, and Tutorial Fellow at Brasenose College. Her research ranges from Victorian to modern and contemporary literature, with an emphasis on theatre and performance.
Professor Kirsten Shepherd-Barr is Professor of English and Theatre Studies in the English Faculty at Oxford and Tutorial Fellow at St Catherine's College. Her research encompasses three main areas of interest: the interaction between theatre and science; the writings of Henrik Ibsen; and the relationship between modernism and theatrical performance.
Introduced and produced by Ruth Moore
