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Review: Brief Encounter, at The Cinema Haymarket
By Shamini Sriskandarajah | In Past reviews
Directed by Emma Rice
Emma Rice marks the centenary of David Lean's birth with a production inspired by his film Brief Encounter and Noel Coward’s play Still Life.
Kneehigh Theatre’s recent film-to-theatre transformation, A Matter of Life and Death, met with mixed reviews, but Brief Encounter deserves to be up there with Maria Atkin’s The 39 Steps as a successful addition to the bold adaptations working the West End.
The company has emphasised that its production of Brief Encounter is not a pastiche of the film, but it is surprising how much detail has remained – Laura’s heartfelt dialogue is occasionally sung by someone else, while Rachminonov appears where you least expect him.
Ever since The History Boys acted out the final, haunting scene of David Lean’s melodrama with exaggerated accents, it seems as though Theatreland has been waiting for a full-scale production of Brief Encounter.
The decision to stage the play at the Haymarket is a stroke of genius, not just because the film premiered at the Haymarket in 1946, but because the large venue offers a surprising intimacy not usually found in West End theatres.
There are a number of unexpected delights throughout the performance, from the moment you take your seat and scan the rest of the theatre, to the sight of Alec winking at a member of the audience as the two of them eat their Banbury cakes.
Designer Neil Murray has got around the problem of how to include trains on the set, not by using replica steam trains as Mary Elliott Nelson did in her stage version of The Railway Children, but by using innovative props which are by turns silly and dramatic.
The cast are a multi-talented bunch – playing instruments, acting and singing, with one of them circumnavigating the stage on a scooter. You have barely a moment to register who the trombonist is before they’re back in the refreshment room pouring cups of tea.
Stuart McLoughlin, who plays Stanley, describes the creative process at Kneehigh as ‘just playing with your mates’. This formula works wonders, from the barking dog at the restaurant where Laura and Alec are caught out as they drink champagne to the playful flirting between the young couple Stanley and Beryl, and the older Myrtle and Alfred, whose stories are fleshed out in the production.
Celia Johnson was unimpressed by Carnforth station where much of the film was made, often shot during cold nights because of safety concerns amid the Second World War. Without the Blitz, however, The Cinema Haymarket provides a charming venue for a play that is two parts drama, three parts vaudeville, and features lovers swinging from the chandeliers.
You’ll want to remember every minute.
Kneehigh Theatre’s recent film-to-theatre transformation, A Matter of Life and Death, met with mixed reviews, but Brief Encounter deserves to be up there with Maria Atkin’s The 39 Steps as a successful addition to the bold adaptations working the West End.
The company has emphasised that its production of Brief Encounter is not a pastiche of the film, but it is surprising how much detail has remained – Laura’s heartfelt dialogue is occasionally sung by someone else, while Rachminonov appears where you least expect him.
Ever since The History Boys acted out the final, haunting scene of David Lean’s melodrama with exaggerated accents, it seems as though Theatreland has been waiting for a full-scale production of Brief Encounter.
The decision to stage the play at the Haymarket is a stroke of genius, not just because the film premiered at the Haymarket in 1946, but because the large venue offers a surprising intimacy not usually found in West End theatres.
There are a number of unexpected delights throughout the performance, from the moment you take your seat and scan the rest of the theatre, to the sight of Alec winking at a member of the audience as the two of them eat their Banbury cakes.
Designer Neil Murray has got around the problem of how to include trains on the set, not by using replica steam trains as Mary Elliott Nelson did in her stage version of The Railway Children, but by using innovative props which are by turns silly and dramatic.
The cast are a multi-talented bunch – playing instruments, acting and singing, with one of them circumnavigating the stage on a scooter. You have barely a moment to register who the trombonist is before they’re back in the refreshment room pouring cups of tea.
Stuart McLoughlin, who plays Stanley, describes the creative process at Kneehigh as ‘just playing with your mates’. This formula works wonders, from the barking dog at the restaurant where Laura and Alec are caught out as they drink champagne to the playful flirting between the young couple Stanley and Beryl, and the older Myrtle and Alfred, whose stories are fleshed out in the production.
Celia Johnson was unimpressed by Carnforth station where much of the film was made, often shot during cold nights because of safety concerns amid the Second World War. Without the Blitz, however, The Cinema Haymarket provides a charming venue for a play that is two parts drama, three parts vaudeville, and features lovers swinging from the chandeliers.
You’ll want to remember every minute.
Comments
Comment #1 | Posted by dhowdy
alec was played by one of the ensemble last night. he was definitely no trevor howard. the leading couple upstaged by lesser characters...otherwise a very enjoyable night.
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