YOU feel the warmth of this production even before it starts. There is a kind of alchemy at work and it draws you in from the outset and doesn’t release its grip until, too soon, it comes to an end. Matt Hartley’s ‘Here I Belong’ which opens on Tuesday night in Ilkley Playhouse’s Wildman studio, is a play for all generations. Its story spans a life time and begins, appropriately for this week, with a reflection back to the day of the Queen’s Coronation.

There is a party being organised in the village hall and best friends, Dot (Anna Riley) and Elsie (Rachel Conyers) are firmly in control. One pregnant and the other pushing a baby in a pram, these are women in those happy early days of motherhood, full of hope and expectation. Being so close to the end of the war though, they are not without memories of a less happy time and some of those feelings still seep into their relationships.

With enormous energy and enthusiasm, these two women are embracing the technology of the day – waiting for the television to be wheeled into the hall for the whole village to gawp at in wonder, squealing with delight at the fridge in the kitchen. However, it is much more than a kitchen sink drama. Of all things, this is an exploration of the importance of friendship and the power that is has. Whilst both women’s families bring them joy, it seems that it is their friendship that provides them with their greatest comfort and is their most reliable and constant relationship.

As the play progresses, Elsie travels through many stages of womanhood and we see her dealing with the highs and lows of life – teenage children, illnesses, family separations – in fact everything that life throws at most of us. Rachel Conyers and Anna Riley are both superb in their roles, embodying these women and showing us so clearly and often poignantly, the effect that life has on us emotionally and physically. When a newcomer to the village – Scarlett – bursts into the scene there are definite signs that her presence will upset the close-knit community and it would be easy instantly to take against this loud and forthright interruption. However, Emma Towning in the role, ensures that this character is sympathetic and instead of blowing the unwelcome winds of change, she is indeed, a breath of fresh air.

Later on in the piece, Anna Riley plays Dot’s daughter whilst Elsie morphs – rather touchingly – into another actor, Kay Vann, to show us Elsie in her 90s. Now the poignancy and emotion really ramps up and there is an element of this being a long reflection of a life-well-lived, but what could easily descend into unbearable sentimentality, instead becomes something quite empowering and ultimately deeply affecting. Kay Vann’s Elsie is warm and comical but at her great age – Elsie is 90 - there is a vulnerability which is both familiar and very moving - Kay’s performance undoubtedly, will touch you deeply.

Directed beautifully by Jay Cundell Walker, Here I Belong runs until Saturday 12th February. Don’t miss it. Tickets available by calling the Box Office on 01943 609539 or by going on line to www.ilkleyplayhouse.co.uk/