Cast Set For Revival Of Noël Coward's PRIVATE LIVES

The full cast has been announced for the upcoming revival production of Noël Coward's Private Lives, which will be directed by 2024 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award Winner Tanuja Amarasuriya.

The production will debut at Octagon Theatre Bolton from 4-27 September, with following runs at Mercury Theatre Colchester (1-11 October), Rose Theatre Kingston (14-25 October), and Northern Stage (4-8 November). It will also tour to Bristol Old Vic from 28 October – 1 November.

The cast will comprise Jodie Cuaresma (Love's Labour's Lost – Royal Shakespeare Company, Boundless – Mercury Theatre) as Louise, Ashley Gerlach (Coriolanus – National Theatre, Patriots – West End) as Victor, Chirag Benedict Lobo (Rope – Theatr Clwyd, Life of Pi – West End) as Elyot, Pepter Lunkuse (Noises Off – Theatre Royal Bath, West End & UK Tour, Educating Rita – Vienna English Theatre) as Amanda, Sade Malone (Lord of the Flies – Leeds Playhouse, Pistol – FX/Disney+) as Sibyl, with Peter Stone (The Killer Question – Greenwich Theatre & UK Tour, The Gap – Hope Mill Theatre) and Imogen Khan (Jungle Book – Bolton Octagon, Raymond Briggs' Father Christmas – Lyric Hammersmith) as Understudies.

Joining Tanuja Amarasuriya on the creative team are Jennifer Kay as Movement Director Amy Jane Cook as Set & Costume Designer, Tim X Atack as Sound Designer, Haruka Kuroda as Fight & Intimacy Director, Chris Davey as Lighting Designer, and Polly Jerrold as Casting Director.

Tanuja Amarasuriya is a Bristol-based director, dramaturg and occasional sound artist, working in theatre and related forms. She is a resident at Watershed's Pervasive Media Studio, and co-founder of the multi-artform company Sleepdogs alongside writer/composer Timothy X Atack. 

As director, her work has included DELAY (Bristol Old Vic), Out of Sorts(Theatre503) and The Paper Man (Improbable/Tobacco Factory/Soho Theatre). As associate director, Tanuja has worked with Dominic Cooke on Good (Harold Pinter Theatre), Medea (@sohoplace theatre), and Rock Follies (Chichester Festival), and was The National Theatre's staff director on Max Webster's production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

Tanuja Amarasuriya said of today's announcement, “I was absolutely thrilled to win the 2024 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award, and I am totally stoked to be working with Bolton Octagon, Colchester Mercury, the Rose Theatre and Northern Stage on this production. Noel Coward's PRIVATE LIVES is a brilliant play – funny, sexy, shocking – and full of bittersweet truths about the complex difficulties of relationships. When I first read it, I was amazed by how modern these characters felt - their contradictions, needs and insecurities feel so recognisable even now. This production will bring it to life for audiences in a way that combines the glamour and screwball comedy thrill of the 1930s with a vibrant, immediate energy that speaks straight to 2025. I'm super excited to be working with this fabulous cast and team to do that.”

The RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award – which honours the memory of RTST co-founder, Sir Peter Hall – offers the winner their first-time opportunity to direct a fully realised, mid-scale production of a classic or modern play in a British regional theatre and to take it on tour.

The Award promotes the RTST's charitable objectives by supporting up-and-coming directors and British regional theatres. It is also intended to appeal to a wide range of candidates and to play a part in promoting diversity in the theatre, onstage, offstage and among audiences.

Entries have recently opened for the 2025 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award Scheme, with the closing date for applications closing at 6pm on Monday 1st September 2025. The 2025 Award-winner will win the opportunity to create a brand-new touring production on the main stage at Mercury Theatre in Colchester in a co-production with Rose Theatre in Kingston and Storyhouse in Chester. More information can be found at www.rtst.org.uk.

Tour Dates

Octagon Theatre Bolton

Thu 4 – Sat 27 Sep

Booking link: https://octagonbolton.co.uk/events/private-lives

Mercury Theatre Colchester

Wed 1 – Sat 11 Oct

Booking link: https://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/event/private-lives-2025/

Rose Theatre Kingston

Tue 14 – Sat 25 Oct

Booking link: https://www.rosetheatre.org/whats-on/private-lives-j6ry

Northern Stage

Tue 4 – Sat 8 Nov

Booking link: https://northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/private-lives/