Laurence Olivier performed in a play.
Laurence Olivier . In 1930 he had his first important West End success in Noël Coward 's Private Lives , and he appeared in his first film . In 1935 he played in a celebrated production of Romeo and Juliet alongside Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft , and by the end of the decade he was an established star . Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward . After touring the British provinces , the play opened the new Phoenix Theatre in London in 1930 , starring Coward , Gertrude Lawrence , Adrianne Allen and Laurence Olivier .