And a Nightingale Sang, Norbury Theatre, Droitwich.

THE audience at the Norbury Theatre was thrown back in time to World War Two to share the hopes, fears, loves and grief of the Stott family.

And a Nightingale Sang begins at the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne home of the Stott family as war is declared, then the characters guide us through the war up until Victory in Europe Day - showing how relationships and beliefs were impacted during the turbulent time.

The impressive amateur cast mastered Geordie accents to perfection, with Andrew Spearing-Brown, who played love-rat Norman, keeping the audience amused with his character's strong Brummie twang, regularly declaring 'I love yow'.

Jan Baines was particularly impressive in her role as Helen, a 30-something with a limp who had given up on finding love until meeting way-ward Norman.

The story of the Stott family is told through her eyes, which meant Jan had an unenviable amount of lines to memorise.

Strong performances also came from the rest of the small cast, made up of David Dunham, Brigette Ashmore, Moira Hilton, Paul Bellamy and Colin Potter.

The play was met by rapturous applause, with the audience clearly loving the trip down memory lane and enjoying a sing-a-long at the end of the show, belting out old World War Two tunes.

In all, the play made for a good night out at the theatre and a refreshing alternative to watching television at home.

by Emma Cullwick