BRIEF ENCOUNTER on Radio

BRIEF ENCOUNTER ON RACIO

The story of BRIEF ENCOUNTER is so straightforward it cries out for radio adaptation.  Yet the effect on listeners can be very different from the stage version.  

This phenomenon is very evident in two versions from different historical periods - the Lux Radio Theater”s version from 1948, and the BBC World Service drama production from 1983.

The Lux Theater Version is presented in the formal associated with all American radio drama of the time; in three acts with commercial breaks as well as words from the sponsors.  Recorded live in front of an audience, with a live orchestra providing the background music, it is “event radio,” a prestigious form of drama broadcast in prime time every Sunday. The orchestra has its own score that forms a backdrop to many of the major speeches, reminding us of the prestigious nature of the production as well as setting the mood.

This version is narrated by Laura (pronounced “Lara” in this version), who is sitting in the chair at home by the fire with Fred opposite her. Fred completes the crossword puzzle, leaving Laura to reflect on the traumatic events of the previous few weeks.  Everything we hear has been filtered through her consciousness. Hence we understand far more the magnitude of what she has done (in her view, at least) and how it has changed her outlook for ever. As performed by Eileen Erskine, she comes across as an ordinary woman trying and failing to cope with extraordinary events, the kind of things she never thought would happen in a million years.  Some of them have been life-changing; others have led to indescribable humiliation.  The sequence where she escapes from the flat after Alec’s friend unexpectedly enters is particularly traumatic, with Erskine’s voice becoming particularly jerky as she recounts the event.  Alec (Van Heflin) is no real help, just telling her to “forget it” as unimportant, as her identity was not revealed.  This response demonstrates a breathtaking lack of sensitivity, as the man deprives the woman of her identity just to ensure her safety. 

From the tone of Erskine’s response, it’s clear that she would rather have had events brought out into the open: it might have adversely affected her public image, but she would have expressed her true identity in public.

This was one side of Erskine’s interpretation, the other focused on her desire to keep the family together, despite not having any passionate love for her husband. Fred was a good man, ever solicitous about his wife’s health, but completely insensitive to her feelings.  He perceived the whole incident as a tempest in a teacup, easily forgotten in the process of family life where Laura had her appointed duties of looking after the house and children.  Like Alec, he regularly protests that he loves her, but obviously doesn’t understand the complexity of her feelings.

This production spares us nothing in her description of her suffering. She talks about running the streets of the city after being discovered, knowing nothing about where she is going, but just wanting to be alone.  She ends.up sitting in the town square, the rain lightly plashing down, staring into space, not thinking about anything except her humiliation. She eventually goes home on the train with her friend Dolly Messiter, but cannot listen to a word.  The radio adaptation has Dolly prattling insensitively away in the background as Laura describes her feelings to listeners, making us painfully aware of just how insensitive other people are, even when they try to be kind. Perhaps the only way is to remain silent and to allow Laura to reflect for herself; and if she wants to talk, to listen rather than comment.

Squeezing all the emotions of BRIEF ENCOUNTER Into a forty-five minute adaptation is no easy task.  Maybe that’s one of the functions of the musical accompaniment that underpins much of the dialogue; to reduce the rawness of Laura’s plight and hence render it acceptable to mass audiences listening at 14.30 on a Sunday afternoon (or on one of the pdf recordings currently on the internet).  This is perhaps the most stark of all recordings of Coward’s play, with the two-malnutrition moment of Erskine’s silence on the train home suggesting that she might be considering suicide.

This episode might be part of a long-running anthology series, and probably very quickly rehearsed before broadcast, but the spontaneity of the performances give it the kind of edge to that even transcends the Lean movie.

The BBC version follows the movie script pretty closely, with little time given over for verbal flourishes or silences.  Cheryl Campbell is particularly concerned to mask her feelings to everyone - especially the listeners - so her performance is a little one-note.  But we should not fault the actor for this, but remind ourselves of Laura’s ordeal, and how every actress has to find a way of communicating it to audiences. If she chooses to mask her true emotions as best she can, we ought to admire her for it, rather than censure her.  

Ian Holm made rather a specialism of playing tortured souls, as he also played Crocker-Harris in THE BROWNING VERSION and Mr. Winslow in THE WINSLOW BOY, both for BBC’s Play of the Month series.  In the BRIEF ENCOUNTER for radio, he comes across as sympathetic yet imperceptible; the kind of man who loved his wife yet sees her as an unpaid servant with the responsibility of providing his dinner at the proper time, and keeping the house clean and tidy.  Without actually saying anything, the thoughts behind his ovoids are evident; Laura, you have abnegated your responsibilities as a wife and mother.  Please resume them as soon as possible.