Here, a group of very energetic Daylesford youths – under the direction of Jen Bray and Joanne Tsakoumagos – made merry with the concept of time.

There’s an amazing amount of talent hidden in these young performers, and it is the job of the people who run it to bring that talent out and to explore the possibilities. And they do that very effectively and beautifully.

Some of the performers are extremely talented and if they could only be persuaded to develop these skills in their school curriculum, they would go far in following that path.

They would also be very good and would become an inspiration not only to their fellow actors, but also to their community.

The audience on Saturday evening was treated to a visual feast, and I was one of the lucky ones to be a part of this. I came away high in spirits.

Upon entering the town hall as theatre, the public was faced with a huge screen with the image of a spiral clock, the same as was used for the poster. It was a back projection onto the large white screen which, during the 19 following performances was used to change the back ground for each of the pieces with time related imagery. They came in the way of very large and clear images of various time pieces. Clocks and the like. A very creative and effective way of changing the scenery.

The excellent and clear images were intensifies by an truly special soundtrack and, as usual, the whole was timed exactly.

What stuck out also were the no fuss costumes which added so much to the whole. A great score.

In terms of the play itself, the director used the age range to her advantage, first of all to create an entertaining variety, plus the older performers were, in some cases used very successfully, to guide and as a result mentor the young ones. The presentation of 19 short pieces turned out to be a very inventive way of telling the story of time. The variety of the pieces kept the audience involved and entertained. There was seriousness and fun stuff; there was loud and soft music to create a soundtrack which was pretty fantastic.

I have noticed over the years, since I try to attend everything presented by students and their amazing mentors/producers, that there is an undeniable talent developing which each year gets a little finer honed a little better and more inspiring. That plus a steady improvement in quality of the students of both the actors and dancer groupings, with some outstanding students who during the performance delighted the audience.

I was once again impressed by the whole of the performance and I was quite moved when the whole troupe performed the circular dance at the end of the event.

This performance seemed to have been produced on the smell of an oily rag but was nevertheless a true inspiration and rated very high on entertainment value and made the point once again that when the creative spirit is applied to the event it doesn't need to be a huge budget event.

With a budget so small, it is still possible to create an altogether wonderful event. And it is here, in the tireless efforts of the producers and directors, that, as far as I am concerned, lies the secret of that success.

The creative spirit of this troupe is alive and well and has the stamp of Jen and Jo all over it.

How lucky we are to have them in our community, there generosity of spirit plus the effort they put in is amazing in itself.

Then, when the end of the performance the circle dance came on, we – the audience – could see how many people were involved in this event, how many lives were changed for the better.

The stage was full of the participants. Dancers, actors, directors, designers, assistant people etc. who made this performance smile.

Petrus Spronk, art@petrusspronk.com