Reviewed Friday 13th September 2013
The Artistic Director of the State Theatre Company of South Australia, Geordie Brookman, made it clear when he was appointed last year that his intention was to expand the ways in which the company operates, and working with successful international companies was one of the ideas on his agenda. If this is typical of the sort of results that we will be seeing, then he has made a very smart decision.
Sir
Noël Coward's one act play,
Still Life, written to star himself and
Gertrude Lawrence, a decade later became David Lean's much loved 1945 film,
Brief Encounter, with a screenplay by Coward and starring Trevor Howard and
Celia Johnson.
It is the tale of Laura Jesson who, when shopping "in town", gets a speck of coal dust in her eye whilst standing on the platform when the boat train roars through, and Alec Harvey, the handsome young doctor who administers first aid. Further chance meetings lead to a series of planned meetings, on Thursdays. They go to the cinema together. They dine together. They fall in love. As romantic as it sounds, this leads to tragedy, as they are both married.
Director
Emma Rice, who also adapted this version of
Brief Encounter from both the play and the film, has made more of the people who work on the railway station, using their love lives as a comic relief to that famous affair between Laura and Alec that is ridden with guilt and ends in eternal unhappiness. She has also referenced the fact that the work is drawn from both sources by cleverly adding some video sequences to the live action, projecting these onto a screen that the actors can pass through, physically moving between the two mediums.
This production, by Kneehigh Theatre, has been running in London and New York for several years, and the cast for this performance includes actors from both sides of the Atlantic. In order to enable this collaboration with the State Theatre Company, two Adelaide actors flew to England for rehearsals with the company to be part of this cast.
Musicians and singers first appear on the foyer, dressed in railway uniforms, before moving to the stage to continue the entertainment until stepping into the set to begin the play. Throughout the play there are musical interludes, with songs by Coward, as well as original music by Stu Baker that matches the era and theme of the work. All of the cast sing and play instruments, either singing solos or some very fine harmony numbers, and they are further aided by two superb musicians, multi-instrumentalists,
Dave Brown and
James Gow.
Adelaide performer, Michelle Nightingale, plays the central role of Laura Jesson. She has had a long career as a singer and teacher, teaching both privately and as the vocal coach at Flinders University Drama Centre, and recently began singing with the State Opera Chorus. She is an actress, of course, with a string of television roles to her credit, and has now added another string to her bow by establishing herself as a cabaret performer. Because of the way that
Emma Rice has constructed this production, to also include music and song, we are given the pleasant opportunity to hear her sing. Her primary involvement in this work, though, is her wonderful characterisation of Laura, taking the young wife and mother in a comfortable, but unexciting marriage, gradually changing as the affair with Alec begins and builds, becoming brighter, more animated and appearing younger all the time, then regressing as the guilt grows, to become almost comatose when the affair ends and Alec leaves her for the last time. She is wonderful in the role, conveying all of the emotional journey, even reflecting her characters feeling through her eyes, sparkling in the good times and empty, dull, when the ultimate trauma of their separation hits her.
Scottish actor, Jim Sturgeon, a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Drama, plays the dapper, Dr. Alec Harvey, in an equally rewarding performance, complementing that of Nightingale beautifully. He gives Alec a warm and confident air and invests him with a love for life and an ambition to move beyond the world of a general practitioner, his eyes lighting up as he tells Laura of his plans to get ahead. Sturgeon's portrayal brings out those qualities that enable us to see what first captivates Laura, lost in a loveless and dull marriage. His character's obvious excitement with life sweeps her up, and Sturgeon carries that forward into a convincing relationship.
Kate Cheel, who was already working professionally in her final year of study, appearing in
Three Sisters for this company, only graduated in 2011. In 2012 the Adelaide Critics Circle, of which I am a member, presented her with their award for Emerging Artist. She has since appeared in several other productions for the company, including playing the role of Laura in
The Glass Menagerie. Critical acclaim has continued. In this production she gets a chance to show her abilities in a comic role, and she shines just as brightly as in those serious and tragic roles. She plays Beryl Walters, the young girl who works in the tearoom, assisting Myrtle Bagot, the manageress. Beryl's attention span is brief, daydreaming of, and conversing with Stanley, whenever Myrtle is not watching.
Stanley is played by
Damon Daunno, who gives us a lively and cheeky characterisation, providing a perfect complement to Beryl. His Stanley is a bright as a button, full of energy, and not averse to a hint of winking and nudging. There is more than a touch of Arthur Daley, or a brash Cockney barrow boy about Daunno's realisation of this character
Annette McLaughlin takes on the role of Myrtle Bagot, head of the tearoom, an outwardly brusque, even severe woman. She has a softer side, though and McLaughlin gives her character plenty of life and fun as she tries to maintain that veneer of dignity in the face of the romancing of Albert, the ticket collector, a romance that she encourages while pretending not to. McLaughlin gives great account of herself in this role..
Joe Alessi plays both Albert Godby, the ticket collector who is romancing Myrtle, and Laura's husband, Fred Jesson. As Fred he shows us the understanding and gentle man who has accepted that there is more to his wife's meeting than tea and the cinema, but that any recriminations and fights would simply drive her further from him. As Albert, he is just as cheeky as Stanley, and they support one another in their amorous pursuits.
Neil Murray's design is based around a pair of towers, with internal steps, on each side of the stage. Onto these can be lowered a walkway joining the two, creating a facsimile of those enabling passengers to cross the tracks at railway stations, but used here for numerous locations as well. Between the towers is a small raised section supporting the tearoom counter/piano. Props and furniture are moved by the cast to create all of the locations.
Projections and film designers,
Jon Driscoll and
Gemma Carrington, sound designer,
Simon Baker, and lighting designer,
Malcolm Rippeth, all contribute heavily towards establishing the feel of the railway station, and other locations, and musical director,
Ian Ross, has done an excellent job of creating the style of the times as well as bringing out some sublime music, songs, and vocal harmonies.
This is definitely a winner for the companies involved, and a win for Adelaide audiences who have the opportunity to see this excellent evening of theatre.
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