A Bridge to the Stars and Red Sky, Salberg Studio, Salisbury Playhouse.

FOR the third year running, Stage 65, is participating in the National Theatre's annual youth theatre programme with these two specially- commissioned plays for young actors.

Both plays carry strong and powerful messages - loneliness, estrangement and the search for love in A Bridge to the Stars and learning to find hope in the unlikeliest of places in Red Sky.

But what impressed me most was the sheer maturity of performance in both plays. At times, it was hard to believe the relative youth of the actors, such was the power of performance.

A Bridge to the Stars tells the story of Joel, sympathetically played by Xavier Job. Joel retreats into escapism as a way of coping with loneliness and things around him that he does not like. He forms a secret society and searches for the dog that leads to a star. These strange adventures only happen at night and the excellent ensemble cast, who remain on stage throughout the 60 minutes, play the residents of the town with utter conviction - seamlessly putting on and taking off coats to mark the beginning and end of day.

It is beautifully crafted, each character inhabiting' quite literally a different part of the stage and moving to the cliff-hanger of a denouement with just the right amount of pace, thanks to the sensitive direction of Victoria Briggs.

In Red Sky three stereotypical archaeology students bicker over artefacts - a gaping hole nearby marking the entrance to a tomb under excavation. During their bickering, the long dead residents' of the tomb become bemused by the relationships unravelling before their eyes, as they start to question how, in fact, they died. This play was sheer delight from start to finish - stunning costumes on the not so dead', strong performances by all, in particular Emma Christie as Pure Joy - but what was so amazing was the sheer professionalism of the cast and production team.

Stage 65 deserves to do well with these plays and I wish them well.

By Anne Morris