Hello, my name is Anneliese Evans and I am 23 years old. I am interested in music, films and theatre and I am a young critic.

Love steals us from loneliness – A play that brings an understanding of what it is to be young and in love. It also shows how situations can get out of hand and result in a tragic event. This play is filled with colourful characters and played perfectly with brilliant acting from all cast members, particularly by Nia Roberts whose portrayal of the grieving mother was heartbreaking to watch. Their characters emotions were felt by the audience and caused us to empathise with them in every situation. It pulls no punches and is brutally honest when it comes to showing family and friends mourn the loss of their loved one. It clearly portrays the ups and downs of a few different relationships, especially the ones between Becky and Mags, as this is the most heartbreaking. We watch them cope with their loss in two separate ways and slowly get over it. This play has been cleverly written and causes the audience to empathise with all the characters as we witness events from each one. As well as having a sad element, there are a lot of humorous moments that lightens the dark mood. Anyone who has been on a night out in Bridgend or even anywhere else can relate to this play and it shouldn’t be missed. This is probably a scene that people have viewed briefly as an outsider; here in this play they are involved in the storyline. The settings, being Bridgend town, the graveyard and their homes were shown as best as they could have been, however it was sometimes hard to see where the characters were meant to be.

At times the play seemed too dark and came off depressing in certain acts such as when we watch the characters grieve. For a young audience this is hard to watch and the play could have had a few more humorous moments.

The musical numbers were enjoyable to watch as we got to see the actors other talents and they did not disappoint. Matthew Trevannions performance towards the end was one of the best and most entertaining moments of the play.

The play is mainly aimed at young people as it has a lot of young references in, such as the characters being young, the language used, and the situations they get into. Whereas most people have experienced the feelings the characters are going through it is initially aimed at the youth of Bridgend and surrounding area. The play will help young people understand the consequences of a death and how people deal with issues in their own way, showing there is no normal way to do anything, which a lot of young people don’t understand.

The script was interesting but as someone from Bridgend it hit a raw nerve, as this is a side to the town that I and a lot of other people find unnerving and upsetting. It is very blunt in its approach to a very delicate subject which some viewers may find disturbing. However this may be viewed as honest and doesn’t skirt around these unsavoury aspects of youth.

The end was rounded off nicely as the characters learnt to accept the death and Mags told Katrin she didn’t blame her for what had happened, showing that she had come to an end in the mourning of her son. It was nice to see Katrin moving on with her life and after the devastation she had to deal with in her youth. I feel that the overall message for the play was to show hope and positivity of moving on in any situation.