LONDON CALLING with Champagne Charlie 27th January 2009

Hello from London,
Cold and dark though it is - theatre here and especially musicals and serious drama are enjoying a surge of popularity. This has been put down to the sheer RANGE of shows on offer.

Take where i am now at the Hampstead Theatre. Mike Leigh and David Hare are favourites here and tonights show is no exception at this cutting edge building and stage.
Rehearsals on the eve of opening night are always a rush and a panic. But under cool headed Lucy Bailey the revival of Noel Coward's 'Private Lives' is proving to be a real hit with cast and critics alike. Broadway World caught up with her in a break from rehearsals after she'd sent via MMS, some photos of the actors going through their paces.

'I've never directed this major Coward play before. But let me say - it's as relevant now as it was in the 1930's' she enthusiastically told me.' I've made some changes for now' she added' For one thing instead of having separate bedrooms there is a single love nest' she told me. 'But this is the world of love and heartbreak BEFORE the era of mobile phones'. Clearly audiences will be able to see how human interaction at such a passionate level has changed.

'The play itself was written in 1930 but the Hampstead Theatre in London - always known for new writing famously revived in 1962 to stunning success' she went onto explain as the actors took in her notes in the rehearsal room behind us.
The play itself is about a divorced couple and structured like a 'comedy of manners' as they are honeymooning as new spouses in the very same hotel as their lovers.
Its 1930 London opening was a huge hit with a stellar cast including Laurence Olivier and Gertrude Lawrence who had received an advance copy of the play as it was being written by Coward while working on Broadway at the time. 

Indeed it's been such an audience favorite no less that 7 revivals have occurred on Broadway.
'It's not just a play about posh rich people' Lucy told me, 'but a classic story about why we love. I have brought out the sensual side of it so hopefully this production comes over as being very erotic and there is plenty of sexual tension and passion there'.
She had some very clear ideas about how to present it to a London and possibly New York audience.

'You can risk being over precious but not with this production.' She insisted. This time 'I have brought out the fact that it's ultimately about love... the loss of love and how we cope; these people are seeking pleasure, sex and entertainment' However she points out the plot shows that that even in this contemporary day and age 'we can be very selfish with love and the circumstances make their love doomed not to last'
She was keen to bring in international talent and as a result Katrina Lindsay - was brought in as Costume Designer.
Katrina's still glowing after her recent success last year at the Tony's for 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' for Roundabout Theatre Company in New York, as well as Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical) at the 2008 Outer Critics Circle Awards and Outstanding Costume Design at the 2008 Drama Desk Awards, also for Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
Lucy was conscious that this work was a real departure form past hits like the staging of 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' (West Yorkshire Playhouse/West End starring Val Kilmer).

'Although I think that was on the back of another film adaptation for stage ('Baby Doll' and 'Don't look now'), I was keen not to stay stuck in this area.' She went on to say as she got ready to return to her actors to see if they'd absorbed her notes.
'I'm keen to work with new work and writers - I love it I think however - we all make the mistake of thinking all new work is good because it just so happens to be new'. She was keen to stress.
'I think the fact that I have never even staged a full Noel Coward play is great because I can honestly say I bring fresh and new eyes to this'.

However the estate were impressed enough to allow her to handle this masterpiece on the back of her big name stage work with A list Hollywood actors as well as her more diligent interpretation of Shakespeare pieces. Indeed as soon as she has finished 'Private Lives' Lucy will go onto work at the RSC for a huge staging of 'Julius Caesar'.
New Yorkers will know Lucy too for her work with the classical group 'The  Gogmagogs' Founded in 1995 by her and violinist Nell Catchpole it matched both creative's common desire to release the physical expression of the classical musician. The company's work has since received huge acclaim for its combination of virtuoso string playing, dynamic physical movement and inventive, groundbreaking theatre.

The shows, devised and directed by Lucy and performed by seven young string players, all explore different ways, from the poetic to the absurd, of involving the whole of the body and personality of the player.
The company has so far created seven new shows and collaborated with 21 composers from the UK and abroad, achieving in their shows an exhilarating mix of styles, ranging from contemporary classical, to jazz, rock, Arabic improvisation, and Malagasy rhythms. The show played at the Miller Theatre in New York in 2000 and then did a full US tour in 2001.

During the show Lucy had trained her young troupe to do while playing music: fighting, running, kissing, even speaking and singing. She hope to return to Broadway if 'Private Lives' takes off and / or do another A List staring film to stage adaptation if the 'property is right'.

Photos by Sheila Burnett

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