Review by Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

THE theatre company Melmouth have created a moving play and production but the true stars of Stay With Me are the young actors from the South London Youth Theatre.

Stay With Me explores the experiences of two groups of young children during the Second World War. Their circumstances could not be more different; one group are German children in a concentration camp, the second are English evacuees trapped in a cellar during a bomb raid.

They are chillingly connected as each loses their innocence as they try to comprehend the horrors of a war beyond their control.

The first section of the performance, This Is My Story, is the dramatically superior. A group of Jewish children are imprisoned in a concentration camp.

They struggle to understand the complete horror of their plight and slowly their curious youth is replaced by mental deterioration. Amidst this helplessness, their complete faith in religion sits uncomfortably but powerfully.

As a young gypsy girl is thrown into their block they fight with their own prejudices. The children of the South London Youth Theatre give mature performances. Their acting talent is evident as they sincerely portray an experience a million miles removed from their own Western 21st Century ones.

The dialogue of their individual monologues is precocious and a little too sharp for a child. But perhaps the eloquence is necessary as the children struggle to cope with being thrust into an unpleasant adulthood.

The second half, That Lovely Land, although acted with an admirable earnestness, was not as poignant. As the second group experience their own horror of war they too find themselves entering adulthood in grim circumstances.

Unfortunately, the unfunny portrayal of the silly English stereotypes takes away from the story. Perhaps all children in England pre-1945 were one of three stereotypes: brave, brooding silent boy; stupid, clumsy but endearing boy or clever but silly-around-boys young girl.

However, their inclusion in this drama gets in the way of the story being told.

Despite this, the performance as a whole was brilliant and the play would be a good outing for young children struggling to find entertainment away from their Playstations, mobile phones and Big Brother.

It is a drama that looks beyond the secret annexe and doesn’t shy away from the brutal truth of what Anne Frank may have experienced next.

During the interval someone was in tears; a testament to the power of the play that speaks volumes and says more than any critical review.

Editor’s note: South London Theatre operates without any outside funding, and is run entirely by volunteers. Read more

Tickets: £10, £8 concessions
For more information call Greenwich Playhouse box office on 020 8858 9256 or visit Melmoth Productions website