Noel Coward’s works are generally regarded as lighthearted and even frivolous. His play, "Still Life", which is probably better known as "Brief Encounter", the title of its film version, is an example of his more contemplative side. "Brief Encounter" tells the story of the year-long love affair between two people in their 30s, Laura and Alec, each one apparently stable and happily married (to others) and neither prepared for the onslaught of love that comes upon them so unexpectedly. The sadness of their serious and secret relationship is contrasted throughout the play with the much more cheerful and playful relationship of Myrtle and Albert, two of the staff working in the railway station where the whole action of the play takes place.
