Noël Coward's "Private Lives" from London's West End Comes to U.S. Cinemas for One Night

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

NCM Fathom Events, CinemaLive and Digital Theatre present the second production to be distributed as part of the West End Theatre Series — the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Noël Coward's “Private Lives,” pre-recorded by Digital Theatre at London's Gielgud Theatre. Directed by Jonathan Kent and starring Toby Stephens and Anna Chancellor, Noël Coward's “Private Lives,” will be presented in select U.S. cinemas on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 7:00 p.m. local time. In addition to the celebrated performance, audiences will be treated to a behind-the-scenes West End experience with the cast and crew discussing award-winning playwright and composer Coward's enduring significance.

Presented in nearly 400 select movie theaters around the country through NCM's exclusive Digital Broadcast Network, tickets for Noël Coward's “Private Lives” are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the NCM Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

Noël Coward's “Private Lives” is a 1930's comedy in three acts. Elyot Chase (Stephens) and Amanda Prynne (Chancellor) are glamorous, rich and reckless divorcées. Five years later, their love for one another is unexpectedly rekindled when they take adjoining suites of a French hotel while honeymooning with their new spouses. This chance encounter instantly reignites their passion, and they fling themselves headlong into a whirlwind of love and lust once more, without a thought for partners present or turbulences past.

Toby Stephens and Anna Chancellor are joined in the cast by Anthony Calf as Victor Prynne, Anna-Louise Plowman as Sibyl Chase and Sue Kelvin as Louise. “Private Lives” has design by Anthony Ward, lighting by Mark Henderson, sound by Paul Groothuis and music by Matthew Scott.

Following a sell-out run at Chichester Festival Theatre, Coward's dazzling and irresistible comedy, blazed across the West End stage at the Gielgud Theatre, where it played a limited season from June 22 to September 21, 2013, proving Coward still has the power to thrill, provoke and delight. Media were unanimous in their critical acclaim with the Daily Telegraph raving, “Their chemistry proves spectacularly combustible” and The Mail on Sunday dubbing the production a “scintillating and sexy revival.”

“Together with CinemaLive and Digital Theatre, Fathom Events kicked off the West End Theatre Series with a superb 'Merrily We Roll Along' event and we are thrilled to bring ‘Private Lives' to the U.S. this December,” said Shelly Maxwell, executive vice president of NCM Fathom Events. “Noël Coward's tantalizing romantic comedy about rekindling love, lust and loathing is a must-see.”

About National CineMedia (NCM)

National CineMedia (NCM) operates NCM Media Networks, a leading integrated media company reaching U.S. consumers in movie theaters, online and through mobile technology. The NCM Cinema Network and NCM Fathom Events present cinema advertising and events across the nation's largest digital in-theater network, comprised of theaters owned by AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings, Inc. CNK, Regal Entertainment Group RGC and other leading regional theater circuits. NCM's theater advertising network covers 183 Designated Market Areas® (49 of the top 50) and includes approximately 19,700 screens (approximately 18,900 digital). During 2012, over 710 million patrons attended movies shown in theaters in which NCM currently has exclusive, cinema advertising agreements in place. The NCM Fathom Events live digital broadcast network (“DBN”) is comprised of approximately 750 locations in 171 Designated Market Areas® (including all of the top 50). The NCM Interactive Network offers 360-degree integrated marketing opportunities in combination with cinema, encompassing 41 entertainment-related websites, online widgets and mobile applications. National CineMedia, Inc. NCMI owns a 47.2% interest in and is the managing member of National CineMedia LLC. For more information, visit www.ncm.com or www.FathomEvents.com. (NCMI-E)

About CinemaLive

CinemaLive is one of the world's leading producers and distributors of premium Event Cinema for cinemas and big screen venues worldwide. Parent company, The Shooting Star Picture Company, has been producing high quality concerts and events for over 20 years and has a reputation for quality and global excellence. With offices in the UK and Australia, the CinemaLive subsidiary has quickly become one of the fastest growing theatrical distributors since establishing in 2008. It delivers the very best music, cultural and family entertainment via satellite and hard drive to over 70 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.cinemalive.com.

About Digital Theatre

Digital Theatre works in partnership with Britain's leading theatre companies to capture live performance authentically onscreen and makes productions available to a worldwide audience in high definition. Recent Digital Theatre releases include the 2013 Olivier Award-winning revival of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night, the sell-out 2011 West End production of All My Sons and Much Ado About Nothing starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate. Visit www.digitaltheatre.com.

For artwork/photos related to “Private Lives,” click here.