Brief Encounter is an imaginative new work that combines elements of Noël Coward’s beloved screenplay, and the one act play on which it was based, with song, dance and Technicolor displays of emotion.
This breakout hit from London’s Kneehigh Theatre played a sold out run at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn,
NY and has also played critically acclaimed engagements at ACT and the Guthrie Theater.
Upon entering the theater, you're greeted by ushers in period garb who regale you with comic banter and musical numbers. This immersion continues with the show proper, which ingeniously incorporates old-style film images and projections into which the characters pop in and out. The overall effect is visually dazzling, but the neatest trick is that the technological gimmickry never overwhelms the simple emotionality of the tale.
There's so much inventiveness in this import from Britain's Kneehigh Theatre that I feel like a grump having to report that the show itself is something of a disappointment.
2010 | Broadway |
Roundabout Production Broadway |
2018 | West End |
Empire Cinema Haymarket Production West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Emma Rice |
2011 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design | Malcolm Rippeth |
2011 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design | Malcolm Rippeth |
2011 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Set Design | Neil Murray |
2011 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Hannah Yelland |
2011 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Simon Baker |
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