THEATRE The Boys in the Photograph/ Lipa; Culture Diary.

Byline: By LAURA DAVIS 

JUST as football is said to be a game of two halves, Ben Elton's revamped musical is a story of two interlinked realities - the Innocence of childhood and the difficult decisions that are part of growing up.

This was also a coming of age for the play itself, its first outing since being reworked by Elton, with Andrew Lloyd Webber throwing in a few extra songs.

The official premiere will be in Canada in 2010, but the students at Lipa were lucky enough to give audiences a preview of this love story set in Belfast during the troubled 1970s.

Not that you would be able to tell this was the first time the show had been performed outside rehearsals, with a strong cast demonstrating that a university production can evoke as much intensity as a professional show.

Despite being children when the Good Friday Agreement was signed, the entire cast seemed more comfortable with the complexities of living in a divided society than as carefree teenagers.

Matthew Grace was particularly memorable as John, the aspiring footballer unwittingly drawn into collaborating with the IRA, opposite Jeanna De Waal's portrayal of Mary, his strong but scared wife whose only wish is to live a peaceful life.

Elton rose to his feet in a standing ovation as the show drew to its close.

The writer has said he wanted to give this new version of The Beautiful Game a happy ending, which may be why the turnaround seems a bit sudden. But if you can't have an all singing, all dancing cheery ending in musical theatre, then when can you?

LAURA DAVIS