In 2017, it's hard to imagine what life was like when our daily necessities and freedoms weren't always there. Three young actors from Torchlight Theatre showed exactly that last weekend.

The Spark Youth program from Torchlight presented a heartwarming yet tragic story called 'Not On This Night'.

The play is set in a farmhouse in rural France on Christmas Eve during the Second World War. A young woman, Jacqueline, is all alone but full of joy as she prepares a Christmas dinner for her fiance and brother that turns out to be an imaginary feast as both are on the battlefield fighting against the Nazi army.

Jacqueline recounts the time, when Nazi soldiers raided her farm, stealing livestock, food and medicine. All the young woman has to enjoy for Christmas is some cheese, a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine that she managed to keep safe.

While Jacqueline enjoys drinking her wine and stirring up pretend conversations with her brother and fiance, a German soldier quietly makes his way into the house and upon seeing Jacqueline, demands to know who else is in the house.

The soldier, Reinhold Schulz, is puzzled when he finds out no one else is in the house. Lost, confused and wounded on his right arm, Schulz eventually allows Jacqueline to treat his wound with vinegar and a cloth as the Germans had previously stolen antiseptics and bandages in their raid.

As Jacqueline and Schulz sit down to eat, an American soldier, Eddie Miller, barges his way into the house with the hopes of taking down his German enemy. Miller has also been travelling for days and is desperate to find a way to get back the American army.

It's clear from the opening exchanges between Miller and Schulz that they view each other as enemies and nothing more, ignoring Jacqueline's cry that it's Christmas and that no one should live as enemies on this night.

Eventually the three come to a common ground, by sharing what they've lost in the war. For Jacqueline, the thought of not seeing her brother and fiance anymore is troubling, especially since she lost her parents in the First World War when they were unfortunately caught in the cross fire.

Eddie Miller hasn't eaten anything for days, causing symptoms of malnutrition. He's also battled measures of loneliness, especially being so far away from his family. For Schulz, the horrors of the war have already caused great emotional damage for him and his desire is simply to win.

Once all three put their differences aside they are able to be still and enjoy one silent night as comrades, as was true in a story that Jacqueline shared of American and German soldiers marking Christmas in the First World War.

Lydia Maleck, Dragos Paunescu and Joshua Wade lend their talents to the play. From the beginning, they show a lifestyle that seems unheard of for their generation. To not know where your next meal will come from or whether or not you will see your family or even talk to them was a stark reality for the three characters and many who lived during the Second World War.

Believe it or not, the best parts of the play came when no words were spoken at all, and you can easily feel the pain that the soldiers and Jacqueline experienced as they share their stories.

The end of the production was so fitting that you couldn't help but shed a tear over the simple words of a Christmas song that's almost forgotten in this day, Silent Night, which was exactly the night that Jacqueline, Schulz and Miller experienced. The show about three enemies that became friends for one special night is a heartwarming reminder of the things that bring us to common ground.