“Loneliness is having so much love to give, but no one to share it with”. This was a quote that appeared on screen at From The Mill Theatre’s production of I’m Standing Next To You that broke my heart and almost moved me to tears.

The play deals with the issue of loneliness in today’s world in three aspects; being a new mother and feeling cut-off from your former life, the guy that desperately tries to form the relationships that others find so easy, and the world of dating. However, all three aspects have one things is common, and that is that this new wave of digital technology is making people more isolated than ever before.

I must say this is the first time I’ve been to a performance where the audience were standing for the entire production. The cast mingle with the audience at the beginning of the show, so you don’t know who the performers are until they begin to speak.

The entire production consists of three overlapping monologues. All are delivered well, however Lucy Hilton-Jones’ tale of trying to find the right guy struck a particular chord with me. Perhaps that says more about me than anything else!

All of the monologues are written well and unpredictable. It wasn’t until the end of the performance that I got the sense that the characters had something missing inside them. It would be quite easy to laugh-off their issues until that point.

Loneliness is a theme that is very much overlooked and never spoken about. This production is certainly unique in its staging, however I think there is room to explore this theme further.

Reviewer: Francis McKevitt

Reviewed: 9th July 2016

North West End Rating: ★★★★