Last night I went to see Brighton Rock performed at the Theatre Royal in Brighton. A lecturer offered us free tickets a week or so before, and at this point, I was really eager to go see a performance in Brighton. This seemed like a good opportunity, it's free and a productive way to spend my evening. Plus, I could enjoy it with my peers who also love theatre. It was the most English Student thing ever, but it was a blast.Before the performance I pretty much went not knowing what to expect, I had seen that there was a film version on Netflix but I have yet to watch that. Afterward, I found out that Brighton Rock is also a book, which I am very looking forward to reading soon!
Immediately I was engaged, the actors and actresses were amazing. Their roles were so strong and enticing. There was never a second where my mind wandered elsewhere. The characters were complex and very intriguing. No two characters were the same, they were individual. I'm not exactly sure of what I was expecting but I was not expecting it to be about crime and gangs.
I think my favourite part of the play was the stage layout. It was made up of this metal frame that could be moved, like stairs and like an arch that was represented as Brighton Pier. It was insane, the use of the stairs was brilliant, especially to signify the passion between two characters. The stage layout allowed the production to show several things happening at once. I loved this, from the beginning we have a character talking out and what looks like from above, the character Pinky answering her almost. She introducing her thoughts about what makes good and bad and he explaining what will unfold. I loved this, it was just brilliant to watch. I was hooked immediately.
Another element of the performance I enjoyed was that is was somewhat. Like it wasn't a musical but there were parts that were sung and I was living for it. It wasn't full-on musical but it was amazing to see that there was a song or two performed.
The storyline was interesting and complex. I found it easy to follow but it also had my thoughts racing too, on the edge of my seat. The performance was 2 and a half hours, which by the end I did feel a little restless but that is probably because I had been in Uni since half 10 and had been seating down working for the majority of the day.
I feel like you know a play is good when you come away wanting more, like wanting to read the book and watch the film and see just how the theatre production was adapted from the original. I think that will be interesting to explore when I read the novel. I will leave the post here, I don't want to give too much away but I would recommend watching!
