Rob Kavanagh, part of Tell Tale Theatre’s Next Door But One. Photograph by Roisin Fletcher.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Rob Kavanagh, Paula Stewart, Shaun Roberts, Dan Edwards, Stui Dagnall, Tom Nevitt, Alex Clark, Kevin Foot-Stephens, Christine Heaney, Leanne Jones, Laura Hall, Sara O’ Connor, Bradley Thompson, Donna Ray-Coleman.

It has become a sign of the times that as a society we are more likely to know what is happening on the far side of the Atlantic Ocean in some stranger’s lives as we use social media to keep up with a celebratory who is in fashion then truly to get to grips with those to whom in the case of accident would be naturally first on the scene, the next door neighbour or the person across the road.

Once upon a time it was quite conceivable that everybody down your street or road, or at least a certain section of it, would have been known by sight and had at least a passing word for each other. Now as communities become disengaged and almost frightened of the person walking on the pavement, the stranger with their own lives and stories who perhaps only lives Next Door But One.

The sense of community is no stranger to Tell Tale Theatre, a troupe of actors who have made lasting and stirring impressions upon their audiences in whatever capacity or venue they have performed in. Whether for the plays Animal Farm, the astonishing The Chairs or the outstanding The Crucible, the cast have always given everything humanly possible to the cause and to the idea of completeness that comes with community theatre and Next Door But One is no different.

The little known gem that resides in the Cornerstone Theatre on Shaw Street houses an idea, a notion that community still exists. A theme that is given credibility with the fairly unique way that the characters penned by the on stage artists themselves interact, but yet seem distant enough in their corners of life in which to have their own stories, fears and insecurities play out for the appreciative audience.

Whether it is the idea of the older statesman of Arlington Crescent losing his way in his own clouded thoughts, the young man who is driven by order and safety and whose own life has been turned by a single devastating blow, the young woman for whom the life has cheated her of something very special, the young man whose simple idea of doing a video-blog makes him a star or the crushing animosity that resides in the heart of a couple, united and separated by love; all is drama that could play out in any street, in any town, anywhere…it is the true life that makes soap opera obsolete.

With excellent performances by the entire Tell Tale cast, community is the right sense of the word, for in each other’s performances, the cast were resolute and resolved, the stories could not exist without the help of those around us.

It might be easier and perhaps more titillating to know what celebratory is having a break-down, who they are sleeping with and what diet they are on but real life is far more interesting, especially at Next Door But One.

Ian D. Hall