Glee and Me - Royal Exchange Theatre

I WROTE my first review back in September 1987 and thought I’d seen it all.

However, I never imagined one day I’d be watching a play wearing a snood or that a play about a teen battling a terminal illness could be so outrageously funny.

Liv Hill plays Lola, a girl coming to terms with the fact her young life is certain to be cut short by a brain tumour.

She has a bucket list on which there only appears to be two items. The first, a determination not to die a virgin, the second, to discover the meaning of life before she shuffles off this mortal coil.

Helped by Stuart Slade’s prize winning script, Hill makes us care deeply about Lola, and she leaves us under no illusion the world will be a worse place without her.

Slade knows when to be funny and when to be serious and and poignant and you’re sure to be stifling a tear or two as you share with Lola the stark realisation that this spirited, fun loving 16 year old is destined to have her life so cruelly cut short.

It’s hard to believe Liv Hill is only in her 20s as she delivers a performance so authentic and powerful its sure to leave a lasting impression on those who see it.

Stuart Slade is the winner of the RET’s Bruntwood playwriting competition and has the talent to be a major theatrical force in the future if he desires it.

Strongly recommended.

Star rating - **** Online bookings only at www.royalexchange,co.uk. Photo by Helen Murray