Singin’ In The Rain and Brief Encounter coming to the North East
May 9 2009 by David Whetstone, The Journal
Memories of two great films will be stirred on North East stages next week. David Whetstone hopes it means some great theatre
THE relationship between stage and screen has been like any marriage – a succession of highs and lows sustained by mutual reliance and fascination.
Some great films become great shows (Billy Elliot, for instance) and some great shows become great films (West Side Story). There are plenty of examples of the reverse happening.
Next week the region welcomes two stage adaptations of very famous films – Singin’ In The Rain (released in 1952) and Brief Encounter (1945).
This kind of fame brings its own pressures, which are elucidated by Tim Flavin who takes the Gene Kelly role of actor Don Lockwood in Singin’ In The Rain at Sunderland Empire.
“I suppose the biggest challenge is to recreate that effortless quality that he [Kelly] brought to the role. Here’s a character who, at the drop of a hat, breaks into a song or a dance.
“In reality that would be a very strange thing to do, but he makes it appear the most natural thing.
“We are doing something really quite crazy. We’re taking a classic piece of Hollywood cinema and creating a stage show based on that.
“When they were making the film they had all the advantages of cinema, in terms of having as many takes as were required to get it absolutely right.
“And you won’t see anybody wearing tap shoes in the film. That was all dubbed on, post-production. Also, the actors were all lip-synching, which isn’t to say they weren’t really singing the songs, but it shows the advantages you have in making films.”
Flavin and his co-cast members, on the other hand, are trying to match the expectations of people who associate Singin’ In The Rain with flawless genius – while wearing smiles and tap shoes and singing in tune.
It is worth recalling that Debbie Reynolds, who co-starred with Kelly in the film, later ranked performing the dance routines in Singin’ In The Rain along with childbirth as the most painful experiences of her life.
“We are two months into an eight- month tour, bringing this classic American musical to everybody’s doorstep,” says Flavin, not actually sounding in the least bit tired.
