Photography by Johan Persson
Brief Encounter, Royal Exchange Theatre
Set & costume design
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By: Noël Coward
Adapted for stage by: Emma Rice
Directed by: Sarah Frankcom
Designer : Rose Revitt
Lighting Designer: Simeon Miller
Sound Designer: Russell Ditchfield
Musical Supervisor/Orchestrator/MD: Matthew Malone
Movement & Intimacy Director: Sundeep Saini
Birkbeck Assistant Director: Amara Heyland
Casting Director: Hannah Miller CDG
Production Manager: Hannah Blamire
Stage Manager: Sarah Smith
Deputy Stage Manager: Mary O'Hanlon
Assistant Stage Manager: Louise Manifold
Set Construction: Splinter Scenery
“The Royal Exchange – a theatre-in-the-round that looks like it has been built from a giant Meccano set – does not lend itself easily to set design. However, designer Rose Revitt has done a lovely job in creating a revolving stage that evokes the Art Deco style of the early 20th century whilst also connecting thematically with the railway context of the play.
.. Her set makes space for the all-important café counter and the musicians who provide excellent live music throughout what is, in Rice’s version, a play with numerous hits from the Coward songbook... Revitt’s elaborate wooden stage also provides the perfect space for a number of excellent, high-energy dance numbers.”
“The revolving stage, designed by Rose Revitt, beautifully captures the Art Deco style of the early 20th century while aligning with the play’s railway context. The elaborate wooden stage becomes the canvas for high-energy dance numbers, creating a visually stunning backdrop.”
“This is all played out on Rose Revitt’s striking set that combines Victorian station ironwork and clock with dark wooden fittings and perhaps a touch of art deco in the rotating inlaid floor with its swirling pattern of railway tracks. For the scene in the rowing boat, this explodes into blossom coming out of the central clock and held by the others in the cast, lit beautifully by Simeon Miller. The four-piece jazz band (Malone plus Alice Phelps on double bass, Jenny Walinetski on drums and Sam Quinn on guitar) is behind the café counter but fully visible, except the percussionist who is encased in wood and reflective glass behind them.”