Seeing Theatre Opty's And Darkness Has Not Surrounded It was an extraordinary experience. The company was comprised of about 30 young people (aged 16-22) from a Polish charity organisation which runs children's homes. During the show, which dealt with ‘the hopes, desires and ideals of young people in an uncertain world’, we witnessed a series of scenes, mostly depicting poverty, oppression, and violence, using physical characterisations and group movement ideas, set to music and sounds. The performers’ level of commitment throughout was superb, resulting in some genuinely moving scenes. The serious desire for a message of hope amidst apparent despair led to the ecstatic culmination where they danced joyously round the stage, directly involving the audience in the celebration.

Despite genuine enthusiasm from the company, one couldn't help feeling that had the powerful theatrical effects created in the first half been employed with equally skilful insight in the second half, to portray the positive, as well as the negative aspects of the human situation, a much richer piece may have resulted. That said, this was a talented and committed group of young people in a professionally directed show.