Elyot (Robert Sella) plays piano in rehearsal for Private Lives. Photo by Helen Drysdale

When Amanda and Elyot run away together at the end of the first act they agree to develop a system to stem the bickering and arguments that divided their marriage. This is the use of “Sollocks”—whenever one of them feels a conversation is spiraling out of control he or she can call “Sollocks”, which immediately stops all conversation for two minutes (with the option of renewal). The second act includes a number of these silences. From the very beginning of rehearsal, Gary was excited about the idea of actually have two full minutes of silence in the middle of the action. Two minutes is a long time on the stage, and the action that happens in that time tells intimate stories about Amanda and Elyot’s relationship.

Noël Coward included in his play very detailed stage directions for these moments. Stage directions can be a help or hindrance to the rehearsal process depending on the play and production circumstances. In our process of staging act two Gary at one point referred to these stage directions as a “score” to the emotional journey of the “Sollocks”. This is particularly interesting since Noël Coward not only wrote the play, but also starred as Elyot Chase in the original production. Take the following example:

They stand looking at one another in silence for a moment, then Amanda flings herself down on the sofa and buries her face in the cushion. Elyot looks at her, then goes over to the piano. He sits down and begins to play idly. Amanda raises her head, screws herself round on the sofa, and lies there listening. Elyot blows a kiss to her, and goes on playing. He starts to sing softly to her, never taking his eyes off her. When he has finished the little refrain, whatever is was, he continues to play it looking at her.

In the rehearsal process we will try this moment easily 10 or 15 different ways before we settle on the version the audience will see—but we learned something interesting when we tried it exactly as written. Amanda chooses to remove herself from the conversation by turning away and refusing to look at Elyot. Elyot goes to the piano as a tactic to pull her back into the present with him. This urgency to get Amanda reengaged then translates into the connection that occurs between them in the music. The music helps them return to an equilibrium, if only temporary.