Credit: New York Times
I feel so blessed to have seen one of the last performances of Brief Encounter at Studio 54 before it leaves the NY stage forever (you have two more weeks to try to get tickets, it has been extended until January 17th, and I strongly suggest you run….don’t walk…to do so). I do have a soft spot for Noel Coward and have enjoyed several of his memorable works live on stage including Private Lives with Alan Rickman on Broadway which I saw several times and Present Laughter which I saw when I was living in London many years ago. Still, I had no idea of the magic that this one play held until my sister strongly suggested I see it before it’s closure. Brought to NYC by St. Anne’s Warehouse, a London theater company, it moved to Broadway very shortly after arriving.
Based on the 1946 David Lean film, it’s the tale of an extramarital affair between two people who did mean for their relationship to happen. The show is also based on Still Life, a Noël Coward one-act. The play’s Artistic Director Emma Rice has returned to Coward’s original play to find elements that weren’t included in the film script, and she has brilliantly woven elements of his original work, both theatrical and cinematic, into what I consider a piece of art. During the first few moments of the play, we see the two main characters talking about their futures, about whether they should return to reality or continue seeing each other. When the actress steps into an actual movie screen, joining a celluloid version of her life, I knew I was in for a treat. Memories of Woody Allen’s Purple Rose of Cairo came flashing into my mind, one of my favorite films.
The main characters, Alec and Laura, meet at a cafe in a train terminal when she has caught something in her eye. Alec, a doctor, removes the particle from her eye and the two have a moment of contact that bounds them together, yet they don’t come back together on purpose. They are both married and resist all temptation in the beginning. Their next few meetings are accidental, until they start arranging to see each other, still with no intentions of starting an affair. Their attraction just becomes too strong to resist. They both have commitments and are quite aristocratic. After their affair takes off, they know that is wrong. They detest hiding and hope that they don’t bump into others. When Laura comes home one evening after having been out with Alec to find that her son had been hit by a car, her guilt rises and she decides to end the affair. But she can’t. She is too in love and so is he.
The play features an incredible ensemble of players who not only act out various characters, but play musical instruments, sing and dance. They are integral to the play and all are so talented. The play utilizes audio and visual elements, a dynamic set, music, puppets, a large screen with filmed projections of dreams and images(of what we don’t see happening in their relationship, like swims in the ocean, boat rides in the park) all heighten the play’s beauty and make it almost lyrical.
For me, Brief Encounter was an encounter of my own. It reminded me of how much I love New York. How much I love theater and film. How great 2011 is going to be.
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