Kneehigh's Acclaimed Brief Encounter Joins Roundabout's 2010-2011 Broadway Season

Kneehigh Theatre's critically acclaimed adaptation of Noel Coward’s Brief Encounter will make its way to Broadway as part of Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2010-2011 season. The song, dance and multimedia production will begin previews September 10, 2010, with opening night set for September 28 at Studio 54. The limited engagement, directed by Emma Rice, plays through December 5. Casting will be announced shortly.

An all-media reimagining of Coward’s beloved screenplay of the same title, Brief Encounter chronicles the romantic journey of an unhappily married woman and the handsome doctor who falls for her when the pair meet unexpectedly in a train station coffee shop, using live music, song, dance, Technicolor film tricks and inventive staging to bring the film to life. A breakout hit at Kneehigh’s home in London, the production played a sold out run at Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse in late 2009.

The original Brief Encounter, released in 1946, starred Celia Johnson as the melancholy, married Laura and Trevor Howard as her forbidden love interest, Dr. Alec Harvey. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Adaptor and director Rice is the Artistic Director of Kneehigh Theatre. Credits for the company include Pandora’s Box, Wild Bride, The Red Shoes, The Wooden Frock, The Bacchae and Nights at the Circus, among many others. The director, who makes her Broadway debut with Brief Encounter, was nominated for a 2009 Olivier Award for Best Director for her work with this production.

The design team includes Neil Murray (sets and costumes), Malcolm Rippeth (lights), Simon Baker (sound) and Gemma Carrington and Jon Driscoll (projection). The show is presented by Roundabout and Kneehigh, in association with David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers and Cineworld Productions.