Hospital Food. Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis

My experience of “youth theatre” starts and stops at primary school Christmas plays, so I approached Friday night’s performance at The Marine Theatre with a certain amount of trepidation.

Part of The National Theatre ‘Connections' programme, Hospital Food was specially written by Eugene O’Hare – one of ten different plays to be performed by 216 different youth theatre groups around the country. The play is set in ‘The Retreat’ – a room in a city hospital where teenage cancer patients can escape from family and hospital staff and relax.

The play was set in and around the theatre – a very effective setting to really make the audience feel part of proceedings. The first of five acts introduced us to the ten characters and the basic storyline. At times the language seemed a little too structured – too thespian – but the actors handled it well.

By the second act – a two-hander between Gus, convincingly played by Emily Jones, and Josh – I truly believed that I was witnessing real life. From that point on, we lived the pain and frustrations of the characters, with several moist eyes noticeable amongst the audience by the end.

The subject matter was never going to make for an easy watch, but what struck me was the quality of the physical acting – all of the characters were spot-on. You really did believe that they were cancer patients – and the way they handled a challenging script with all the emotions you may expect – black humour (chemotherapy is the 'hospital food' of the title), anger, fear, love and loneliness.

Congratulations must go to all the cast, along with Jo Elworthy for her tutoring and direction. The play can next be seen at Plymouth Theatre Royal on April 18 and then, if there is any justice in the world, will be chosen to be performed at The National Theatre in London.

Mention must also be made of one of the cast, James, who had his hair cut off to raise money for The Teenage Cancer Trust. Donations can be made to the charity via justgiving.com/Andrew-Williams57 . Proceeds from the four performances of Hospital Food at The Marine Theatre will also go to the charity.

Neil Harvey