A Heart Stopping Story of Forbidden Love

Probably best known as the 1945 film, Brief Encounter was originally written in 1936 as Coward’s one act play, Still Life, one of ten short plays in Coward’s Tonight at 8:30 series. This stage adaptation by Emma Rice, first performed in 2008 by the innovative Kneehigh Company is a richly theatrical and original treatment of a classic.

Set in the late 1930s, two highly respected and respectable middle class people with traditional settled lives, meet by chance and fall hopelessly in love. The production is a romantic, and comedic, tale of forbidden love. The struggle between desire and duty, sentiment and sense. A familiar theme.

Brief Encounter explores the very essence of this thrilling, desperate, whirlwind experience.

The setting, a railway station refreshment room, could not be more ordinary. Other alliances and dalliances are also playing out. The heartache - and the fun - of romantic encounters, the ease - and the difficulty - of the three contrasting relationships, are all explored. There is longing, shame, and silliness.

1930s British social conventions of class, duty and emotional repression are highlighted through the relationship of Laura and Alec. The working class characters find it far easier to express just how they feel. The parallel narrative of the station staff provides a lively and stark contrast with the fraught relationship of the middle class couple whose intense, inner feelings can never be fully realised.

We are captured by the stories of all three couples. The romantic antics provide a perfect foil for the high drama of Laura and Alec’s brief encounters.

Kneehigh Company’s production has toured widely, including New York in 2010. A production at The Watermill theatre in Newbury in 2021 was reviewed as “a must see show, offering a fresh take on a classic story that manages to be both moving and fun.” More recently, and closer to home, a review of the production at Manchester’s Royal Exchange in 2023 agreed; “a heart wrenching experience that cannot be missed. It will have you in fits of laughter one moment then emotionally invested in the gripping live story next.”

Starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard, David Lean’s film adaptation, with screenplay by Coward himself, is considered a cornerstone of British post-war cinema. At the 1952 Cannes Film Festival it was voted one of the ten best films of all time.

With Noel Coward’s inimitable music and lyrics too we think it’s not to be missed in Downham!

About Emma Rice

Emma Rice is one of British theatre’s most inventive and influential directors, celebrated for the vivid, emotionally charged storytelling that has defined her career. Rising to prominence through her long association with Cornwall’s Kneehigh Theatre, Rice helped shape the company’s distinctive blend of physical theatre, music, and mythic imagination. Her breakthrough production of The Red Shoes in 2001 established her as a major creative force and earned her the Barclays TMA Award for Best Director. Rice later brought her iconoclastic vision to Shakespeare’s Globe as Artistic Director, where her tenure sparked both admiration and debate for its fearless reinterpretations of classic texts.

In 2018, she founded Wise Children, continuing her commitment to joyful, generous, and defiantly theatrical storytelling that places humanity and imagination at its heart.

About Noël Coward

Noël Coward (1899 - 1973) remains one of the defining voices of twentieth-century British theatre, celebrated for his razor-sharp wit and elegance. A playwright, composer, actor, director, and all-round theatrical polymath, Coward rose to prominence in the 1920s with a string of sophisticated comedies that captured the rhythms, anxieties, and glamour of modern life. Works such as Private Lives, Hay Fever, and Blithe Spirit cemented his reputation as a master of sparkling dialogue and emotional precision.

Beyond the stage, Coward was a prolific songwriter and a charismatic performer, known for his clipped delivery and impeccable poise. His wartime contributions, including the patriotic film In Which We Serve, broadened his cultural impact and earned him national admiration. He even had the iconic supporting role of Mr Bridger in 1969s The Italian Job.

Knighted in 1970, Coward’s legacy endures in his unmatched blend of wit, theatricality, and humanity—qualities that continue to inspire directors, performers, and audiences around the world.

Interval Refreshments

There will be a bar selling glasses of prosecco (and equally nice non-alcoholic alternatives) before and during the interval of each performance.

Pre-Theatre Meal at The Assheton Arms

We are delighted that once again The Assheton Arms in Downham will be offering a pre-theatre meal exclusively for Stage Two Downham ticket holders.

They will provide a two course meal for just £20, and will also make sure your meal is complete in time for you to make short journey to Downham Village Hall. Once you have bought your theatre tickets, call The Assheton Arms on 01200 439699 to reserve your table.