Brief Encounters at Bradford Interchange

Bradford Interchange, October 2015

Freedom Studios presented Brief Encounters at Bradford Interchange at the beginning of October.  Written by Rav Sanghera this play invites the audience to witness encounters between people from all walks of life beginning a school reunion, a cleaner helping a customer in need to a busy business man engaging with an asylum seeker.  

Not set from any primary theatre space with hypothetical sets but performed in a busy transport interchange.  The scenes could not appear any more authentic such as the railway platform, on a bus, in the toilets and in public spaces.  The encounters are visible to everyone where one can eavesdrop on conversations.  The conversations link appropriately with personal, social, political and economic issues that are relevant in Bradford's society today.

The transition interlinks nicely from one scene to another with the character existing and entering scenarios which the audience follows.  All done seamlessly in a public space where many brief encounters take place daily.  Stories shared in the play replicate some of the many that are replicated in real life.

Sanghera's aim is to connect people from different backgrounds and circumstances.  One cannot get a better theatrical experience with different people entering and exiting with diverse stories.  An intimate and heart warming play where one is moved from life experiences by a handful of people.  Visiting Bradford Interchange will certainly make one think of what stories are share from day to day and what life journeys the passengers are taking.