Noël Coward’s BRIEF ENCOUNTER opens next week

The People’s Theatre are full steam ahead to bring Noël Coward’s famous tale of joy and heartache BRIEF ENCOUNTER to their stage next week.

After a chance meeting in a provincial railway station café, respectable housewife Laura and local doctor Alec tumble head-first into a passionate love affair. In their stolen time together, their whirlwind romance is urgent and all-encompassing, but are they willing to risk everything for love and tear their lives apart?

David Lean‘s 1945 film starred Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard as Laura and Alec. On the one hand etched in the nostalgia of buttoned-up forbidden romance and a time when the trains ran on time, the film also remains a timeless classic.

This stage adaptation by Emma Rice of Coward’s iconic story was first performed by Kneehigh in 2008 and subsequently revived for triumphant West End and Broadway runs. Praised for its imagination and innovativeness, it enchanted critics and audiences worldwide.

Director Anna Dobson comments: “I hope this show will take everyone by surprise; it’s rich with comedy and drama, singing, dancing and Rachmaninov! Bringing a screen classic to the stage has been such a joyful and exciting process and the People’s feels like the perfect location to take on such cinematic gold, having formally been The Lyric Cinema. In a world of chaos, we hope the theatre audience will feel the same escapism as cinemagoers of the time and enjoy ‘going to the pictures and getting lost in the dark’.”

Playful and funny, witty and warm, this spellbinding reimagining also retains the bittersweet romance of the original. There’s plenty of music and dancing too, with a live band on stage throughout and Coward’s songs providing a perfect 1940s musical backdrop!

BRIEF ENCOUNTER is playing at the People’s Theatre in Heaton from Tuesday 22nd to Saturday 26th November at 7.30pm each evening. The run includes a reduced-capacity performance where mask-wearing is encouraged on Tuesday 22nd. All details and booking at www.peoplestheatre.co.uk

Noël Coward’s Brief Encounter, adapted for the stage Emma Rice

Date:  Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 November 2022

Includes a reduced-capacity performance on Tuesday 22nd

Time: 7.30pm

Tickets: £15 (Conc. £13)

Venue: People’s Theatre, Stephenson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 5QF

Box Office: 0191 265 5020                     

Website: www.peoplestheatre.co.uk