Brief encounter

Went to the Cineworld Haymarket in London on Friday, currently bedecked with bunting and balloons for a stage version of Brief Encounter by Kneehigh Theatre. This started life at the Birmingham Rep (there had to be a Birmingham link somewhere, didn't there?), but being almost completely ignorant of theatre we only just clocked it. What a show. It was the promise of clever film/performance tricks that pulled us in, and there were a few of those; it opens Purple Rose of Cairo style, with the heroine Laura jumping into the screen, and ends with an amazing train effect. But most of it is just ten actors and musicians working their arses off and having so much fun that the audience gets yanked along. We won't start writing gushy reviews here; this Variety writeup gives you a fair idea of what to expect. £40 tickets, and worth every penny. Just smuggle in your own gin and tonic, theirs are rubbish and cost £7.

(And yes, this is the blogging honeymoon. Posting is guaranteed to slow down to a trickle in a couple of weeks.)