Nigel Havers and Patricia Hodge to star in Noël Coward's 'Private Lives'

The pair, who each have an acclaimed career spanning four decades, star as a divorced couple, both on a honeymoon with their new partners, in this 1930 play.

Nigel Havers and Patricia Hodge will return to the stage this summer in a new production of Noël Coward’s Private Lives.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the English playwright's death, the production, will run from 31 August 2023 to 25 November 2023 at the newly refurbished Ambassadors Theatre.

With a career spanning nearly four decades, Nigel Havers has appeared huge shows on both stage and screen. These include TV dramas such as Downton Abbey, and Coronation Street, as well as stage roles in Rebecca, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Art.

Patricia Hodge credits include theatre productions such as Calendar Girls, Travels With My Aunt, and Relative Values, with recent screen roles including A Very English Scandal, Downton Abbey and Miranda.

The play also stars Dugald Bruce-Lockhart (The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson, The Deep Blue Sea, Mamma Mia), and Natalie Walter (Packs of Lies, Jerusalem, CBBC's Horrible Histories).

In Private Lives, Havers and Hodge play ex-spouses who are honeymooning in the South of France with their new partners. They begin to slowly reignite their old flame, but it starts to burn out as quickly as it begun.

Christopher Luscombe directs this play that will be the first to perform in the updated theatre, following a multi-million-pound investment to improve facilities and access.

Photo credit: Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers. (Photo courtesy of production)