Hymn To Love is a beautiful homage to the legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf.

We are treated to 15 of her classic songs, perfectly translated, and full of life, love and people.

They are exquisitely performed by Elizabeth Mansfield, as they were, over the years, in front of Piaf’s adoring audiences.

But there meaning is amplified by everything that we learn was happening behind the scenes.

Mansfield is brilliantly accompanied by pianist Patrick Bridgman, whose instrument is his voice.

They are a perfect pairing with a clear bond. Between them they can take the studio audience through a rollercoaster of emotions.

The play is set in a Manhattan hotel room in New York, Piaf is rehearsing for her last US concert – and knocking back whiskies.

The hotel holds haunting memories. It was here that eight years earlier she had telephoned her lover, boxer Marcel Cerdan, begging him to overcome his fear of flying and leave France to be with her. Hours later she heard the terrible news that his plane had crashed. Marcel was dead.

Past and present, love and loss merge. We learn of Piaf’s incredibly tough start in life. A brutal beginning which laid the foundations for the years ahead.

While she finds fame and fortune and is hailed as a national treasure, there are also endless dramas and heartbreak. There are many moments of light, love and celebration, but there is always a pervading sense of loss. And a horrible inevitability that there won’t be a happy ending.

Mansfield portrays this brilliantly. We feel Piaf’s anguish and pain which she has to leave in the wings as she steps on to the stage before charming the audience with her beautiful ballads.

Hymn to Love is a fabulous mix of light and dark, full of atmosphere and emotion.

Hymn to Love runs at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, until Tuesday, April 10.