It is increasingly noticeable that our younger musical theatre societies lead the way in the programming of some very adventurous and frequently demanding productions. Here was another case in point. Stephen Schwartz’s ‘Children of Eden’ appeared in the early ‘90’s,midway between his two far bigger successes – ‘Godspell’ and ‘Wicked’ – and has features of both with its mix of folk, blues and Broadway (curiously mixed with Eastern elements in Act 1) though it does lack any truly showstopping songs.

However this YVP production was spectacular and often moving. The story (which might benefit from some editing in places) told of the creation story and of the banishment of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden in Act one (Ruby Davies was here superb as Eve), In the second act it moved forward to the story of Noah ( wonderfully played by Harrison Smith) which included a delightful sequence as the pairs of animals enter the ark. The script could also be seen as a meditation on the idea of parents letting children lead their own lives.

As often in performances of such quality it was easy to forget that the cast was so young (some extremely so) , though not necessarily inexperienced, and there were many outstanding performances. These included the vocally-talented Joe Whittington (Cain), and Jack Mitchell (Abel). Choreographer Ben Hurley expertly oversaw proceedings as The Father – he must be very proud of his children.