Presented by H M Tennent Ltd, the play began a provincial tour at the Opera House Manchester on 30 August 1954, subsequently opening at the Strand Theatre in London's West End on 25 November.

Directed by Murray Macdonald, it starred Roland Culver, Coral Browne, Ian Carmichael, Dora Bryan, Ernest Thesiger and Esma Cannon, with settings designed by Alan Tagg.

[1] According to Frances Stephens, editor of Theatre World, "Simon and Laura has as its amusing central theme the guying of television family serials and the author is well served by the very talented cast.

At the same time, husband-and-wife team John McCallum and Googie Withers toured it with great success in Australia, playing it in repertory with the Terence Rattigan drama The Deep Blue Sea.

"[10] Early in filming Peter Finch and Kay Kendall watched rushes and asked Rank's head of production Earl St John that Muriel Box be replaced.

"[13] "This Pinewood comedy is full of good jokes at Lime Grove's expense", added The Star,[14] while the Daily Worker called it "A most efficient exercise in what is now the time-honoured film sport of television baiting.

"[15] In the News of the World Peter Burnup observed that "Simon and Laura may not turn out to be another Genevieve or Doctor in the House but all the same it has plenty of elegance and high spirits", adding, "I have no doubt the BBC will survive the good-humoured leg-pull.

"[16] "Simon and Laura betrays in its style, method and presentation of sophisticated marital disharmony a diligent admiration for Mr [Noël] Coward's Private Lives", concluded Fred Majdalany in the Daily Mail.

Ian Carmichael was this time cast as the middle-aged Simon rather than the ambitious young BBC producer David Prentice, the role he'd previously played both on stage and film.

Melville, who appeared in person to introduce the play, made various changes to his original script, including a self-reflexive rewrite for Simon's initial objections to working on TV: "Television?