Aspects of Love is one of the lesser known of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's musicals and as it focuses on the darker side of love—envy and adultery—it is easy to see why: Starlight Express it ain't. Of all the aspects of love, it is love's conquering, shattering power which Nikolai Foster's production holds on to.

France, 1947: Englishman Alex Dillingham falls in love with failing actress Rose Vibert at the tender age of seventeen. The two escape to an empty French villa belonging to Alex's Uncle George, where their affair rapidly blossoms. Meanwhile, George has been enjoying his own casual fling with Italian sculptress Giulietta Trapani, but feels compelled to check on Alex's welfare. Rose instantly falls for the charismatic George, and complicated love triangles subsequently dominate the 20-year span of the musical. The final scenes depict the desolation of Rose and her daughter Jenny following George's death and Alex's abandonment in favour of the sexual temptations of Giulietta. It is, understandably, somewhat of a teary ride.

At the centre of the piece is the character of Rose, played magnificently by Shona Lyndsay. Intense fear of being alone means she falls wholeheartedly in love with numerous people at the same time – developments which, in Lyndsay's hands, are believable and touching. While George and Giulietta hold a casual view of love and rarely suffer heartache, the same cannot be said for Alex. Hinting at the fragility of the the heart and love's power to inflict lasting damage, Rose's early deception savagely crushes his naïve view of romance.

Featuring a small but strong cast, Aspects of Love explores growing disillusionment within the tangled romance webs of the key characters. The easy relationships of the characters who show least romantic commitment question the very importance of love within society, lending the musical a very modern twist whilst revealing the dependence and dark fears of loneliness lurking within all relationships. Love does, indeed, change everything. But not always for the better.