Brief Encounter - Watermill 2021

[BurlyBeaR]

Also at The Lowry from 20th Feb

[moelhywel]

Just back from seeing this at the B'ham Rep, playing to a packed house.Supposedly 90 minutes with no interval but 100 minutes tonight. I hadn't seen this when it was first at the Rep (although I did see the original play Still Life at the Old Rep in 1970 as one of the Tonight at 8.30 triple). I really, really enjoyed it and found the way it was presented so effective, especially the use of film and the curtain. I thought the entire cast were excellent but particularly liked Isabel Pollen as Laura, Beverley Rudd as Beryl and Dolly and Jos Slovick as Stanley, but especially for his playing on several different instruments. You could tell how much affection Emma Rice has for this, even bringing in the iconic Rachmaninov Second Piano Concerto. She came into the auditorium just before it started and went up the stairs but I don't know if she was sitting watching it. If she was she must have been very pleased with the reception it received.

[Deleted]

Thanks moelhywel - fond memories of seeing this in London and am taking my family to see it in Birmingham in a couple of weeks, so glad to know it's still up to scratch.

[robertb213]

WhatsOnStage offer for this - use promo code WOS to get £35 seats (should be £52.50) from 2 March to 15 April 😁

[nick]

Feb 6, 2018 21:44:59 GMT robertb213 said:

WhatsOnStage offer for this - use promo code WOS to get £35 seats (should be £52.50) from 2 March to 15 April 😁

Cheers. persuaded my lovely wife that she needed to see this.

[CG on the loose]

Saw this in Birmingham last night and very happy to find it as charming, witty and well-played as I remember. And oh to have Jos Slovick providing a soundtrack to my life

[stagebyte]

Just booked to see the last night in Birmingham.
Really looking forward to it but especially if the soundtrack is the same as the movie? Can anyone shed any light as to whether they use Rachmaninov score?

[crabtree]

Oh yes Rach makes an appearance or two, as do several lovely Coward songs.

[orchidman]

Just didn't think this worked. This central romance is faithful to the film and well played but the slapstick supporting stuff is from a different show, and I never thought the two successfully cohered.

I'm not convinced this was a good choice of film to stage in the first place, it's a small, intimate film, many of the best bits are subtle expressions from the actors in close-up.

A couple of nice stage effects but to little end.

[Deleted]

There appeared to be more slapstick in it than in the film although Lucy Thackeray was very good as Myrtle channeling a number of well known characters in her portrayal. After the explosion in the theatre basement on Tuesday, there were no loos available in venue on Wednesday so we had to use ICC ones.

I enjoyed the show and there was an excellent post show talk with a funny moment when Isabel Pollen reached up to describe something and flashed her stomach her Dad who was in the audience quipped "Put your belly away".

[Dr Tom]

Finally caught this tonight (last night in Birmingham). Well, actually I did part see it on Tuesday before the performance was stopped, but as that was quite an unpleasant and scary situation, I'll put that to one side for now.

It's a very talented cast, almost all actor/musician types. They also perform a pre-show concert as people arrive, and interact with the audience inside before the show starts.

The front of the stage is taken out, with some additional seating used for the production put there. That means the front row has loads of legroom, unlike the typical front of the Rep. A possible downside is it's one of the main audience interaction areas.

The majority of actors play multiple parts (which confused one gentlemen sat near me who kept having to ask questions to his partner - the same person who also needed to disrupt the row to go out and buy beer part way through). Jos Slovick stood out to me, with his great singing. Beverley Rudd had excellent comedy timing and really reminded me of her character on Trollied.

This is based on one of the greatest films ever made and was really presented as if the audience know all the set scenes from the film, so they can have some fun with it. The farcical parts were a let down to me, splashing water around to pretend to be in a boat, using an electric guitar etc. The sentimental moments worked better and I liked the use of puppets in place of children. I also noticed that Peter Dukes had difficulty keeping his English accent going.

There was pretty much continual background music, which was distracting, although the main score has rather a haunting feel to it. This was rather a "play with songs", so they seemed more prominent than in the film.

The filmed sequences fit in well, but they weren't all with the same cast performing, which always looks odd.

Overall, enjoyable, but I'd love to see a production closer to the original film (or even the play the film was adapted from).

[stagebyte]

Thought this was superb. Brought my 14 year old son with me and he was gripped throughout. One of the best behaved audiences I’ve witnessed in a LONG time. No sweets/talking/phones which must be testament to the play and actors. Noticed the person leave. Hour and half no interval with just one person leaving (that I saw) though is impressive compared to West End standards where it seems to be a come and go as you like situation usually.
Thought the music was brilliant and complemented the action and there were some great comic turns. Definitely recommend.

[Deleted]

I liked this a lot a couple of weeks ago in Birmingham. I haven't seen the film, but thought it was cleverly done, very funny and romantic. I thought the way it acknowleged the iconic film and other cinema effects was well done - I personally think The Wizard of Oz should be tackled this way as that always feels like you're just watching the film on stage (Maybe that could be a direction for Liam Steel to take this Christmas at The REP?).

On another note, I noticed a great new trailer and interview with Emma Rice has been made for this. However I noticed the new artwork at the end (and by the look of it on social media on the programmes for tonight at the Lowry) describes this as "A musical adapted and directed by EMMA RICE". I personally would just describe it as a "play with songs" and (correct me if I'm wrong) I'm sure others would agree with me?

[Deleted]

Not seen it yet, but for me, the question is "are the songs diegetic or non-diegetic?". Also, I don't believe anyone has ever sat down and said "THIS is what makes a musical, THIS is what makes a play with songs, this is OFFICIAL and anyone whose opinions differ is factually WRONG", so even if everyone on TheatreBoard were to agree with you, that doesn't mean Emma Rice has to.

[Deleted]

I think that, with recent shows like Once and The Girl From the North Country, there’s a greater acknowledgement of shows with songs as commentary coming under the umbrella term of musicals. As far as the general public goes, I imagine that anything with a large number of songs in it will be thought of as a musical, no matter how they arise from the narrative.

[tonyloco]

Feb 17, 2018 23:31:34 GMT Dr Tom said:

Overall, enjoyable, but I'd love to see a production closer to the original film (or even the play the film was adapted from).

The original of 'Brief Encounter' is a one-act play by Noel Coward called 'Still Life', one of nine such plays he wrote to be performed by himself and Gertrude Lawrence under the umbrella title of 'Tonight at 8-30'. During April and May, all nine plays are being presented in groups of three at the Jermyn Street Theatre. 'Still Life' will be coupled with 'Star Chamber' and 'Red Peppers', the former being a comedy about a charity committee meeting and the latter being a hilarious tribute to music hall with several delightful Coward songs ('A Couple of Men about Town' and 'Has Anybody Seen our Ship?'.

[Deleted]

I remember fondly the last time I had my briefs encountered at the Empire Cinema so it'll be a nostalgic delight to go back again.

[Deleted]

If anyone wants to see it in The Empire Cinema but has not got tickets yet ,I got email from old vic where you can get £10 for the previews(March 2nd-18th) in London when you book through the old vic website and use the code PWC10.

[fossil]

£10 seats seem to be the rows M to R only

[showgirl]

It does say in the email price levels B and C; but I could only see the level by hovering the cursor over an actual seat. And yes, the bulk of the seats seem to be level A.

[Deleted]

Well. I thought it was just delightful. And so very funny too. The supporting cast are fabulous, Lucy Thackeray's voice is a thing of wonder and her chemistry with Dean Nolan is fabulous. Even better though are Beverly Rudd and Jos Slovick as Beryl and Stanley. They are HI-larious and Jos Slovick in particular has such a lovely voice when he's plucking on his ukulele. There are so many moments which are incredibly inventive and beautifully realised and I think that all of the slapstick going on around Alec and Laura makes their tale even sadder. Oh and there's a bit with a curtain and a train that I almost gave a standing ovation to it was so glorious.

Don't turn up two minutes before the show is due to start though as you'll miss the cast all dressed as cinema ushers and giving us a few songs which is smashing.

Go see it. Go see it. Go see it.

[westendcub]

What a splendid evening this was with my absolute steal of £10 ticket from ‘Old Vic’ PWC previews.

I loved the fantastic mix of theatre with its cinematic moments & invention theatre magic!!

Just wonderful!!

[showgirl]

Great news, @ryan and westendcub; could you say roughly where you sat, please? Following on from the discussion about the £10 deal applying only to the rear stalls.

[westendcub]

Mar 7, 2018 23:23:58 GMT showgirl said:

Great news, @ryan and westendcub; could you say roughly where you sat, please? Following on from the discussion about the £10 deal applying only to the rear stalls.

Sure I was P07 (I don’t see how there can be any bad seats here as it’s a cinema so is raked throughout) & well if it helps Emma Rice was there 2 rows in front of me!!

[showgirl]

Thank you, westendcub - that's really helpful and reassuring. I had no idea what the venue was like since as it used to be a cinema, it doesn't feature on any theatre sites and I didn't even know there was a rake - which not all older cinemas have.