As Broadway readies Noel Coward's Present Laughter, Toronto's Canadian Stage Company is busy meddling in Coward's Private Lives, which opened Nov. 14.

Starring Brenda Robins and Albert Schultz as Amanda and Elyot, Private Lives looks at two people who can't live with or without each other. Amanda and her ex-husband meet unexpectedly while honeymooning in the south of France with their second spouses. Within hours, the divorcees are sparring and renewing their love/hate relationships.

Coward wrote Private Lives in 1930, after Hay Fever but before Design For Living, Blithe Spirit and Present Laughter.

Robins was featured in Canadian Stage's Dancing At Lughnasa, while Schultz is known for his CBC television work. Rounding out the cast are Patrick Galligan, Lindsay Leese and Maureen Kirkpatrick as the maid. Glynis Leyshon directs, sets and costumes are by Pam Johnson, lighting is by Luc Prairie.

A co-production with London's Grand Theatre, Private Lives runs to Dec. 14 at the Bluma Appel Theatre in the St. Lawrence Center For The Arts. For tickets (C$23-$52) and information, call (416) 368-3110.