A review by elluuhnn
Brief Encounter by Noël Coward, Sheridan Morley

4.0

Will forever be the most heartbreaking short play I’ve read. There’s so much pain between Alec and Laura, so much that they both share, and it’s so painfully quick. Their meetings are so brief and their relation developed so quickly and intensely, but they have no time. Alec’s line “there’s no time at all” always breaks my heart, the bell announcing the trains’ arrivals makes me physically wince for Alec and Laura, and the Rachimanov Piano Concerto No 2 encapsulates the intensity of their meetings. The express train rushing through, never stopping at the station, is such a painful reminder of how short-lived their encounter was. I’d wish for it to be longer, but that would detract from the whole fleeting encounter.