"Skin". Keble O'Reilly Theatre

Plays about the impact of serious disease on normal people like you and me make surprisingly good (if frequently traumatic) theatre. Angels in America, People, Places and Things, The Inheritance, these were all heartstopping experiences. They also won loads of awards.

Skin, the first play by writer/director Peter Todd, can stand proudly next to them. It doesn't have the pizzazz, the budget or the surreality. But it does have heart. So, so much heart.

A simple, short story, told on a virtually bare stage, it traces the journey of a young woman, Sadie, from having a few moles removed to facing possible death.

Sensitively, dramatically, with thorough research and heart-wrenchingly good acting, it takes us through the stages, and we feel Sadie's pain, anger and confusion every step of the way.

I was at the opening night this evening, and there was a well-deserved standing ovation. Some audience members were left silently hugging each other in tears as the house lights came on at the end.

Getting traumatised may not be everyone's idea of a good night out, but it should be. This is what theatre is for.

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