BITTERSWEET rather than as sugar coated as the name might suggest, Strawberry Starburst at The Blue Elephant Theatre is a one-woman show that follows the life of a young girl named Shez, played by Maryam Grace, who struggles to battle her inner demons and ends up in hospital with anorexia.

Trapped by negative thoughts of self-doubt and loneliness, she sees her life spiral out of her control while trying to come to terms with her father leaving and being stuck in a toxic relationship.

Joe Donohoe, a composer from Walthamstow, wrote the music for the play, along with his friend and fellow composer, Odin Orn Hilmarsson.

Joe explains why he chose the challenge of writing 13 pieces of music for a drama that explores an important message of hope while her confidence is being consumed by an eating disorder.

He says: “The play follows a girl who talks to the audience in the present but at the same time, she recalls memories, so the audience goes back and forth in time a lot with her as she tells her story.

“She talks about a time with her father, who is now absent but in the past he was there for her and it is at these points of drama where we decided music should enter.

“I talked very early on with Odinn about using the music to underline the memories and moments of the main character. As a result, the music is half and half, as you have the very uplifting, dreamy soundscape stuff which underpins these memories and then you have the music which is darker and has a textual ambiance as the she falls into her darker moments.”

After reading the script Joe was keen to be on board.

He recalls: “I wanted to get involved as I had never worked in theatre before and I got a phone call and thought why not? I wanted to do something different and was intrigued by the play itself.

“I really liked the story, which was written by Bram Davidovich, as I thought it had a lot of potential and I wrote the music with Odinn pretty much straight after reading the script - before I had even met the cast.

“We wrote 13 pieces of music in the play in the end, which help to build suspension, as the play is a 16-page monologue with one actress and is really word heavy.

“At the same time, we didn’t want the music to overwhelm Maryam, as she is such a strong actress and we didn’t want the music to be too busy. The music therefore only slightly enhances what she is already presenting and doesn’t drown her out.”

Joe picked out the most dramatic parts of the script that he felt music was necessary to add tension.

He adds: “Music has always been a passion. I have been composing for about five years and playing musical instruments including the piano and guitar for ten years.

“You have to be quite flexible and play a lot of genres as a composer, so I would say I am an all-rounder.”

Growing up in Walthamstow, which he says is now known as a creative hub, his family were his first influences when he began pursuing composition.

Joe says: “My father was quite musical as he played various things, such as the cello in string orchestras and so he opened me up to music. All my tastes now come mainly from him.

“I started training late when I was 15. A lot of people tend to start earlier but I suppose I have come a long way in such a short space of time but I’m so busy with different projects, I don’t have much time to stop and think about it all.”

Joe realises he is lucky that his passion is also his full time job.

He says: “This experience of working in theatre has been quite new to me, as I usually work on music for television shows.

“I’ve just started work on a BBC drama with another composer, Dominik Scherrer, who has done stuff like Ripper Street. I worked with him a couple of years ago on The Missing, which starred actor James Nesbitt and we are just beginning working on season two, which should come out in November. It is a really busy year for me.”

Strawberry Starburst, The Blue Elephant Theatre, Bethwin Road, Camberwell, until Saturday May 28, 8pm. Details: 020 7701 0100.