By Francesca, 17.

A vibrant escape from a dreary November evening, Private Lives truly brought the 1930s glitz and glamour to Newcastle’s Northern Stage.

From the retro set to the flowing vibrant costume, visual aspects of the performance were an unbelievable blast to the past – think stylishly curled hair and starched white shirts.

Set defined this play with cleverly designed backdrops and partitions for narrative concept – a balcony in which we were the sea view – and gorgeous velvet furniture to truly explore glamorous characters and their wealth.

I was enthralled by a deep dive into the chaos of classic relationships, era related, and the stresses of marriage for both men and women. It was interesting that the gender roles were flipped between the couples, with Amanda and Elyot – divorcees – taking dominant positions in their own marriages, and Sibyl and Victor seeming submissive in opposition.

Despite an overly emotional negative representation of Sibyl, it was refreshing to see a powerful female main character in Amanda. Elyot was delightfully disagreeable through hilarious misjudgements and physical theatre – fighting with Victor over their wife in common and an amusing interpretive dance. We were kept on our toes as the audience, every so often being referred to as the wonderful view which was a captivating way to use audience inclusion.

Overall the play featured sharp wit and hilarious monologues, the perfect escape from monotonous modern life.  

Private Lives ran at Northern Stage in Newcastle between 4th – 8th November 2025.

This was created by young people as part of the Headliners Young Journalist programme. This project was made possible by the Million Hours Fund.