A STORY of love, lust, jealousy and bitterness escalated into one of the most emotional dramas I've seen on stage recently.

Creditors really left me feeling overwhelmed by the rollercoaster of feelings displayed on stage with incredible agility by the three actors in the Studio at the Theatre By The Lake.

The play was written more than 100 years ago but don't expect it to be old-fashioned and out-dated. Quite the opposite - it explores the complexity of human nature and the difficulty of dealing with break-ups, new relationships and the emotional debts partners often hold each other to.

The way women's role in society is depicted is an element that particularly struck me in Creditors. You can imagine that at the time women were expected to be not much more than housekeepers and pretty accessories to show-off on social occasions. But Tekla, brilliantly played by Dorothea Myer-Bennett, is a strong woman, an independent spirit with a heart full of emotions that she struggles to keep under control.

Tekla divorced her ex-husband Gustaf (David Sturzaker) after a fling with Adolf (James Sheldon).

They eventually get married, but they are keen to keep the excitement they felt from the previously-secret relationship going. And they do so by engaging in an almost Oedipal-type of game made of nicknames and ambiguous attitudes.

In the play, we see the strength of this relationship dwindle as the seed of doubt is planted into Adolf's weak and suggestible mind. But worse than doubt, the feeling that Tekla owes him for who she has become since their relationship started and her success as a novelist starts to really alter his feelings for her. But then the tables turn. Comedy, drama and a little mystery all play an important part in Creditors.

I won't reveal too much, because you really need to just sit and let yourself be transported in that world. The studio setting is great for this, because it's much more intimate than a big theatre. I almost felt as though I was visiting friends and I happened to catch them having an argument in front of me.

One thing I really must mention is how beautiful the set was. At the end of it I wanted to ask the company if I could take the stage furniture home!

Creditors plays in the Studio at Theatre By The Lake from March 22 to April 20. Tickets are available at

www.theatrebythelake.com or by calling the Box Office on 017687 74411.