ONCE in a while there comes a new play to Bolton that shines through with a raw emotion that almost moves one to tears.

You know that it is a production you will remember for years to come.

All Of You Mine is such a play largely thanks to a set of superb performances from an experienced and talented cast.

The play, written by Richard Cameron, is set in Yorkshire, in a mining community, still left reeling from the miners' strike and subsequent closures of pits.

The action centres around the Cade family, blown apart by a deep and bitter rift which developed during the strike. Wounds yet to heal revolve around a tragic pit incident in which five men lost their lives. But was it an accident?

A memorial service is planned 12 years after the deaths and the Cades are once again brought together, forced to confront past events and the subsequent bitter emotions brought out from that fateful day.

Tessa Worsley plays the matriarch, Cissy. The grand old woman whose character must ring true to almost all in the audience. The role is played with a great strength, but also an inner tenderness that belies the gruff exterior.

Estranged daughter, who returns to stir up the hornets' nest is Verna, played by Susan Twist. She too displays a terrific performance.

David Crellin as the flash Danum and Steve Garti as brother-in-law Earl are also excellent. Claude Close is the once proud Billy, and Paul Simpson provides the majority of laughs as the young Neville. It is also once again a strong performance from Teresa Gallagher who appears in a second consecutive play at the Octagon, as sister, Alma.

Overall it would be unfair to single out any one actor, as each gave a wonderful display, evoking just about every emotion from an audience who emerged drained! Beverly Greenberg bgreenberg@lancashire.newsquest.co.uk