In late 2021 the Mill at Sonning in Berkshire staged a wonderful production of Top Hat and the Watermill in Newbury staged Brief Encounter with the music of Noel Coward to delight audiences returning to these welcoming and exciting venues after lockdown. While many venues seem to be struggling to put on shows these two venues start their 2022 seasons with an immersive experience at The Mill of Still Life, the original Coward play on which Brief Encounter was based and the Watermill opens a brand-new play of Spike, about Spike Milligan, at the end of the month. Berkshire audiences are very well served by these wonderful venues and their interesting programmes.
Still Life was written by Coward in 1936 as one of nine one act plays which were presented under the banner Tonight at 8.30. He scripted and produced the classic black and white film, Brief Encounter, directed by David Lean in 1945. Artistic Director Sally Hughes made the bold decision to stage the original play in her downstairs bar rather than her theatre and to create a unique immersive experience. Director Tam Williams delivers on the concept using the intimate space cleverly to place the audience on tables in the railway cafe of Milford Station so that we feel we are eavesdropping on the conversations of the staff and visitors waiting for their trains to depart.
