Grand Saloon, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London – until 12th September 2026
Reviewed by Phil Brown
3***
Still Life, a one hour play by Nöel Coward, staged in the stunning splendour of the Grand Saloon of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is quite an experience – immersive certainly, but also indulgent, nostalgic, and memorable. And with only a limited run of a week, audiences should lose no time in booking a unique and richly entertaining experience as extras in Milford Junction station cafeteria at the heart of the action, along with a heavenly afternoon tea served prior to the performance.
Still Life was first performed by Nöel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence in 1936 and was later adapted for the silver screen (1945) in the shape of Brief Encounter, afondly remembered classic of romantic heartbreak cinema directed by David Lean.
This production of Still Life, (Bob Benton and Wild Pursuit Theatre – producers) is well directed by Tam Williams and was originally staged in the Waterwheel Bar at The Mill at Sonning Theatre, one of the only dinner theatres in the UK. It’s exciting to see that concept being rolled out beyond Berkshire.
With Regency opulence, elegant furnishings, glittering chandeliers, and ornate ceilings, it is a bit of a stretch to imagine the Theatre Royal’s Grand Saloon as a railway station cafeteria, but most of us only have experience of such things after the golden age of rail, post the formation of British Rail (in 1948)! This cognitive dissonance quickly fades into irrelevance as the performance proceeds.
At the time of writing, I daresay Still Life was quite a daring and risqué work. Not so today of course, but reinforced by nostalgia for a simpler era, it remains a compelling story with timeless appeal.
And as it unfolds over five scenes, it becomes evident there are actually three separate romances taking shape in parallel around the station café hub over a matter of only a few months. Each one cleverly showing contrasting ways in which relationships develop and play out across the social divide.
Alec, a respectable married Doctor (Alasdair Craig) is between trains when he helps to remove coal dust from the eye of handsome housewife Laura (Rachel Pickup) who is the model of exquisite elegance. When we encounter them again, it’s clear they have already had several meetings, defying middle class conventions of the time, but the embryonic affair still seems a touch awkward, formal and tentative. Real passion feels held in check and only really starts to surface once Alex reveals his interest in preventative medicine. The interplay between Pickup and Craig is excellent throughout, exuding the inherent frustration but restraint of responsible adults, both with families, in conducting an illicit liaison in public and the prospect of serious consequences in the event of full commitment.
Meanwhile, station ticket collector/whistle blower cheery Albert Godby (Anthony Jardine) and fearsome café manager with a soft centre Myrtle Baggott (Elizabeth Elvin) engage in something altogether far less complicated and buttoned up, through boisterous flirting and banter with intent.
The third romantic sparring occurs between the youthful and carefree Stanley (also Anthony Jardine) who sells confectionary on the station platform and Beryl (Seren Sandham-Davies), giggly assistant to Myrtle who frequently tells her off for misbehaving. It is a more playful and innocent flirtation.
The cast do a fine job of evoking the past and telling a still moving story. Judicious use of locomotive and station sound recordings are very effective at recreating a bustling railway station, and I enjoyed the imaginative choice of music which helped punctuate the scenes.
In particular, Debussy’s Clair de Lune used as a form of leitmotiv for the main love story feels like a perfect accompaniment to a doomed romance. Other songs include the upbeat “My Hat’s on the Side of My Head” (Al Bowlly), “When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam” (Irving Berlin) and the reflective “I’ll be Seeing You” ( Fain/Kahal). Songs are performed by the impressively versatile supporting cast – Anthony Jardine (banjolele and guitar) and the excellent Seren Sandham-Davies (piano and trumpet) who has a voice to envy. I would have liked to see more detail about the music in the programme.
It has to be said that, sadly, the acoustics of the high ceilinged Grand Saloon do not match the magnificence of the space. The imposing rectangular bar also interferes with sight lines. Even though the cast is mic’ed up, and move about in the performance area in and around the central bar, it’s disappointing that speech is not always crystal clear.
Overall, though, there can be few better ways of spending an afternoon than enjoying the refined elegance and lavish afternoon tea of the Grand Saloon wallowing in the nostalgic heartbreak of this fine production of Still Life.