Brief Encounter

Brief Account by Talia Baruch

Stepping out of the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco’s bustling Union Sq. on a Saturday night out, I feel like having been shaken from deep sleep, residues of a powerful sweet dream still lingering, flashing blushed images.

Emma Rice crafts theater like no other. The elemental theme of forbidden love gets a fresh spanking in this original multi-media spin. The tale is told with a trivial, epic and honest tone, all jingled into one authentic expression. The use of cinema, live music and props transforms the flat dimension of stage-play to a realistic recreation of 1938 England and transports the audience right into the setting as active participants.

Laura and Alec fall in love. Forbidden love. Their brief encounters see-saw between 2 clashing ends that define their condition: the ocean and the train station. They are free to flow and jumble in the timeless underwater world of peace and passion and are whistled back into line by the nippy punctuation of train schedules, snapping them right to reality and tearing them apart onto opposite platforms.

Back in my seat after intermission, with Champagne still bubbling down my throat, I am quickly teleported back to the 30’s. The room is dim with flickering candle light and he softly whispers:

“A room with a view

And you

No one to worry us…”

And all of a sudden the alcohol kicks in and reigns. The couple on the stage is moving ever so slowly. Sparkling bubbles are floating up in slowmo’, while still silence is pressing down, heavy, filling the theater with welling drama and pain and bliss.

Reminding the audience that this encounter will end soon. It must. But not yet. Not just yet.