Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. Brief Encounter Also see Susan's review of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
That's the immersive experience that Kneehigh, a British theater company, brings to the stage of Washington's Lansburgh Theatre with their touring production of Brief Encounter. The work, adapted by Emma Rice from Noël Coward's 1945 film and his 1936 play Still Life, uses ingenious theatrical techniques to make the audience an active participant in the performance. Rice, who also directed, begins the entertainment in the theater: her cast members, dressed in usher's uniforms, play musical instruments, sing, and chat with audience members. Then Laura (Hannah Yelland) and Alec (Jim Sturgeon) act out a desperate scene in the auditorium while a filmed image of Laura's husband (Joe Alessi) appears on a screen onstage. Laura breaks away and steps through a slit in the screen, appearing as a filmed black-and-white image in a scene with her husband. It isn't all about repressed feelings that can no longer be denied; Coward's script provides amusing counterpoint with two other, less reserved couples. While Laura and Alec first become friends, then gradually become emotionally attached to each other, the manager of a railroad station tearoom (Annette McLaughlin) has a combative relationship with a station inspector (Alessi), and a waitress (Dorothy Atkinson) has a giddy fling with a candy vendor (Damon Daunno). As directed by Rice, the actors periodically make the emotional subtext visible, vibrating as a (filmed) train passes or getting knocked down by (projected) surging waves. Designer Neil Murray has created a clever set in which, for example, an upright piano doubles as the serving counter of the tearoom, and metal stairs lead both to train platforms and to the second floor of Laura's house (where puppets represent her children). Gemma Carrington and Jon Driscoll, projection and film designers, add measurably to the proceedings, as do the Coward songs performed throughout the 90-minute performance. Shakespeare Theatre Company Presentation Series
|