“Brief Encounter”: My Review
I wish I could generate more enthusiasm for “Brief Encounter,” an adaptation of the 1945 Noel Coward/David Lean movie set before the war in suburban England. The British-based Kneehigh Theatre’s adaptation, which has landed at the Roundabout’s Studio 54 space on Broadway after successful runs in London and, last December, in Brooklyn, has received an ingenious production, filled with musical numbers, film projections, and la-de-da vaudeville. But I admired the stagecraft and winning performances (especially those of Hannah Yelland and Tristan Sturrock, pictured) more than I felt emotionally invested in the proceedings. This story of an affair between an unhappy housewife and a physician is a textbook case of the way that restraint can heighten feeling. Take away the restraint — if not in the dialogue scenes then in the overall mood of the production — and, for me, you’ve taken away the impact. “Brief Encounter” can be enjoyed more as a lively approximation of a larky night at the cinema circa 1938 than as the occasion for a good cry. And without a tear or two, what’s the point?
