“Brief Encounter – On Air” by The Festival Players
Loughborough Town Hall

Trapped in a loving but unsatisfying marriage, Laura Jesson is unable to stop herself from falling for a stranger she encounters at the train station. Alec Harvey is also married and the pair realise that their innocent friendship is developing into something more serious. As passion takes over, Laura must make an impossible and heart - wrenching decision.

Presented in the style of a 1940s radio drama and steeped in romantic glamour, The Festival Players perform this adaptation of the award-winning 1945 film, live on stage as a follow-up to last year’s "It’s A Wonderful Life:A live Radio Play".

As soon as the play starts, you are enveloped in a certain feeling. That feeling when you are with your loved on, snuggled up on the sofa, wrapped in a quilt, the rain is pouring down outside and it's Sunday. You switch the TV on and there's one of those old 1940's films on, black and white of course, and you sit together and watch the whole film. You know that homely feeling, well that is how this play makes you feel.

The sound effects take you to places from the film; the coffee shop, the railway platform, Laura and Fred's home, you can almost smell the coffee and the smoke from the steam trains.

The cast bring everything to life with their story telling, and if you close your eyes, you're there in the film.

Laura Brookes (Laura Jesson) perfects that wonderfully clipped cut glass accent and, what I love about radio plays, she injects every emotion into the character with only her voice. Completely hypnotic.

Nick Grainger (Alec) is equally engaging and hypnotic as the gentlemanly doctor.

A myriad of brilliantly voiced characters are brought to life by this wonderfully talented cast.

Valerie Scmitt-Li (Dolly/Mary Norton), Gareth Busson (Fred/Albert/Porter), Liz Bristowe (Myrtle/Waitress), Douglas Gilbert (Soldier/Stephen/Policeman) and Shirley Burgess (Mrs Rolandson/Beryl). All actors immaculately dressed for radio, of the age where tuxedos and evening dresses were what radio artists turned up for work in. Very classy.

Chris Marshall is credited as the Foley Artist, which I have learned is a person who makes "foley" for films in post production. So what exactly is foley? Foley is reproduced sounds, named after sound-effects artist Jack Foley, and can be anything from the swishing of clothing and footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass. You see what an education I get from productions like this? Not only does Chris enhance the production sonically, he has enhanced my education of radio and film technology.

Jez Malpas is the sound effect manager, and again enhances productions like this no end with the various effects needed to make these various locations from the film come to life in your head.

The set is the same as last year's "It's A Wonderful Life A Radio Play"; a radio recording studio, complete with sound effects booth, foley section, 1940's microphones, a chaise longue where the actors who are not on mic lounge, and the "applause" light to let the audience know when they were required to show appreciation. A set that had it's own aura.

Set in the beautiful Victoria Room inside Loughborough Town Hall, the venue room also adds to the feel of the play. So, for 90 minutes or so, allow yourself to be transported back to one of the classiest of decades and a wonderfully romantic piece of theatre, performed in a way that you've never experienced before.

“Brief Encounter – On Air” is at Loughborough Town Hall until Thursday 5 December and on 7 December in Coalville's Century Theatre.