Encounter magic

The show has been nominated in the Best Entertainment category, alongside international cabaret show La Clique and Maria Friedman: Re-arranged.

The stage adaptation by Kneehigh Theatre, drawn from a combination of the iconic Noel Coward film and his original play Still Life, delighted audiences last year during its successful run at the Haymarket Cinema, which was, I'm told, turned into a wonderfully apt theatre venue for the production - we couldn't get tickets during our London trip.

Kneehigh's Emma Rice is up for best director, competing against Terry Johnson for La Cage Aux Folles, Des McAnuff for Jersey Boys and John Tiffany for the National Theatre of Scotland's acclaimed Black Watch, a huge hit at Warwick Arts Centre.

Brief Encounter is also in the running for Best Sound Design, alongside musicals Piaf and Jersey Boys, and Black Watch again, and is competing for Best Set Design with West End musical Marguerite, the RSC's The Histories and the National Theatre's August:Osage County.

Brief Encounter plays out the lives and loves of three couples in and around the famous tearoom at Milford Junction Station. A funny, passionate and tender show, it combines a startling physicality with live music and songs, and clever use of film and projection technology (as with Milo Twomey and Hannah Yelland, above) to create a breathtaking experience for audiences in which a cast of ten play a multitude of characters and instruments.

Royal & Derngate has been working with Kneehigh Theatre to create a new production of the show, which can be seen first in Northampton from Friday 13 to Saturday 28 February, before embarking on a major national tour.

If you can't get to Northampton, the show is at Warwick Arts Centre from, April 28 to May 2, Wolverhampton Grand from May 19 to 23 and at Cheltenham in June.

Anything by Kneehigh gets my warmest recommendation - they've never disappointed me yet, as I told Will and John in The Store as I supped on Joelle's emergency mocha - the coffee supplies had been held up for days by the snow.

Call Royal & Derngate's Box Office on 01604 624811 for more information or tickets, or visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk. The results of the Laurence Olivier Awards for 2009 will be announced on Sunday March 8.