ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE, MANCHESTER – UNTIL 13th JANUARY 2024
REVIEWED BY ZOE BROWN
4****
Known for staging the unconventional at this time of the year, the Royal Exchange Manchester’s Christmas offering, Noel Coward’s Brief Encounter, is a refreshing take of that all-time classic film of 1945. Emma Rice’s stage adaptation has been transformed by director Sarah Frankcom for this version, which only includes original Noel Coward songs throughout, such as ‘Mad About the Boy’ and ‘Sail Away’. It also incorporates an original jazz score from Musical Director Matthew Malone and a live band on stage throughout.
For those that need to be reminded, this is a story of an unexpected and sudden romance between two respectable married people who meet quite by chance and fall deeply and hopelessly into forbidden love. Yet it is also an exploration of love in other forms, love grown through flirty familiarity between colleagues, young lovers experiencing the unfamiliar and heightened throws of a first crush, and the love of a mother and her children.
If the intense romantic drama of the film was too much, fear not, for this production is laced with humour and music and dance. Lots of impressive and lively dance that gets the audience clapping along, oh, and the singing is exquisite!
It primarily tells the tale of Laura (Hannah Azuonye) and Alec (Baker Mukasa) who have a brief encounter on a Thursday in the tearoom of Milford Junction train station. Over the course of the following months a deeply intense romance blossoms. However, the forbidden nature of this out-of-wedlock romance and the pressure to hide oneself within their ordinary lives proves too much.
Coward also observes love in different forms and from different societal classes, and this show celebrates that, through the ensemble cast of characters that sit within the same demographics. Casting by Hannah Williams allows these various characters to thrive. I particularly enjoyed the vivacious café manager (Christina Modestou) whose ‘I’m No Good at Love’ was so powerful. Paired with playful Train Conductor Albert (Richard Glaves) they made a good match. Young, shy Beryl (Ida Regan) was charming to watch and yet sang with a surprisingly dynamic voice. Georgia Frost showed her acting versatility, able to switch from the lustful Stanley to the frightful Bill with ease, and totally believable as both.
Azuonye’s Laura was wonderful to watch as her journey unfolded, she held the stage with her grace and was utterly believable as the guilt of her indiscretions grew. Unfortunately, I wasn’t convinced by the love affair of Laura and Alec (Baker Mukasa) as they didn’t seem to have the chemistry you would expect from such an intense coupling.
The dance and voice skills of the cast were amazing. They had the ability to shine in their individual solo moments yet support each other particularly in their harmonies and dance numbers.
The musical talents of Matthew Malone, Alice Phelps, Sam Quinn and Jenny Walinetski elevated this production from musical to a musical masterclass. The combined original score by Malone and sound design by Russell Ditchfield, using elements of musical avant-garde, enhanced the mood and accentuated moments in the performance, particularly the use of sound to note the blossoming romance between Laura and Alec. Having a live band on stage added a pleasing refined grace to the show which meant that when a character had a solo you were almost lifted out of the train station and into a jazz club.
If you’re looking for a Christmas show with period sophistication, then you could do no better than go the Exchange to see this production.