Presented by Next Stage Theatre Company
Tuesday 3rd - Saturday 7th September 2024 7:30pm
Matinee Saturday 7th September 2024 2:00pm
"I'm a happily married woman. Or rather I was, until a few weeks ago."
Noel Coward's 'Brief Encounter' remains one of the screen's greatest ever love stories. Its timeless, sensitive portrayal of two happily married strangers thrown together by a chance meeting and helpless in the face of their emotions has enthralled generations.
Adapted for the stage by Emma Rice, Coward's classic 1945 screenplay and the one-act play 'Still Life' on which it was based, are energetically fused together with classic Coward songs and music to make a richly theatrical and vibrant experience.
As the locomotive steam swirls about you, 'Brief Encounter' will take you back to the edge of an impossible affair. To a time when it mattered what people thought and a cup of tea cost threepence.
Directed by Brian Hudd and featuring the talents of some of Next Stage's finest actors, don't miss this first-class ticket to romance.
Adapted for the stage by Emma Rice
Adapted from the play STILL LIFE and the screenplay BRIEF ENCOUNTER, both by Noël Coward
Originally commissioned by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers & Cineworld who first presented Kneehigh’s production of Noël Coward’s Brief Encounter in 2008
Songs and verse are by Noël Coward
The original music and musical arrangements are by Stu Barker
Rehearsal Images
Cast
Review:
I arrived at The Mission Theatre and was transported back in time to a pre-war world of sixpences, down trains, banbury cakes, cups of tea and (such style on the cusp of oncoming war and petty privation) never leaving the house without a hat. This was an innovative adaptation by Emma Rice of a beloved film. Based on the 1936 play Still Life (part of Noël Coward's Tonight at 8:30 series of one-act plays) it is most famous as the 1945 film, but I would also recommend watching a TV production of Still Life featuring Joan Collins if you can find it.
Attention to period detail is something we've come to expect from Next Stage; a radio, a newspaper, the station cafe having tea strainers, rock cakes and sugar cubes on spoons on saucers all set the scene. The zoned set was used effectively, and the use of projections was a superb addition, delivering nuance to each scene and ensuring we always knew where the actors were, literally and metaphorically. 1930s costume detail included T-bar shoes, stocking seams, petticoats, and turn-ups on trousers; it's the small details that matter. In terms of direction there was a similar attention to how people spoke and behaved, from clipped vowels, men tipping hats to ladies, how people sat and even how they spooned soup. These details elevate good performances to excellent ones.
There was real chemistry between the couples, clearly defining their trajectory. The actors playing Alec and Laura used delicate understatement to bring an emotional depth to every encounter, while the slow build of all the relationships emphasised the differences; Myrtle's and Albert's carpe diem second chance, Stanley's and Beryl innocent young love, and Alec's and Laura's doomed affair. Good use of doubling avoided a huge cast and gave actors a variety of characters to showcase. I particularly enjoyed the gossiping ladies at the restaurant as well as Stephen in his flat showing his "disappointment" and the roles of Fred and the children.
It is interesting that Coward chose the middle-class couple to behave immorally, whereas the working-class characters are more principled. Such class distinctions (so beloved of Coward) were deftly drawn out in all the interactions, but ones that stood out were the scene in which Beryl's attempt to close early is thwarted by the lovers, and the one in which Myrtle is perturbed by the rude young men then rescued by Albert. Charming moments such as Stanley making Beryl drop the dustpan and brush, the clergyman and the waitress noting the couple at the restaurant, Dolly's insensitive intrusion, and Myrtle and Beryl folding tablecloths gave us moments of comic relief and lifted us briefly from the doomed central relationship.
Live music in a production is a real treat, and well-chosen songs of the era (including ones by Coward) performed with panache and style enhanced the performance. It would have been a sin not to reference Rachmaninov whose piano concerto, made famous in the film, tugged at the heartstrings. There's something about steam trains as a trope in drama that evokes nostalgia, and the team accomplished this beautifully with sound, projections and even steam; I could almost smell the coal.
If I have a minor criticism, some of the gentler comic moments came close to descending into light farce, threatening to spoil the charm of the piece, and the wave metaphor was slightly overdone. But otherwise, this was a well-cast and sensitively directed ensemble piece. It delivered nostalgia for what seemed like a simpler time, when feelings were private and self-regulated, a far cry from the emotional diarrhoea of today's world where privacy is abandoned to social media likes and shares.
So do yourselves a favour and treat yourself to the ultimate nostalgic evening. Pop into the ticket office and go on a romantic journey. Before the train departs platform two, there's always time for a cup of tea in the refreshment room. Cake or pastry?
Rebecca Beard
