A BOMB scare alerts the airport; a suicide alarms an office. A man ties up his lover; an old woman plots murder. At the scene of a gas explosion, the rescue services are busy photographing limbs, for fun.

In this town, everyone is a terrorist and everyone is a victim of terrorism. Such is the premise of The Presnyakov Brothers’ play Terrorism, first staged in London at the Royal Court in 2003 in a translation by Sasha Dugdale that will be used by the York Theatre Royal Young Actors Company this week.

“It’s a further string to the Young Actors’ bow, as everyone either knew our last play, Equus, or had heard of it, whereas a Studio piece gives us the chance to do something more off the radar. I’d still class Terrorism as a new work and as a play that has no cultural baggage, unlike Equus,” says director Julian Ollive, who first saw the play in London.

Written by the Russian brothers while at a Siberian university, Terrorism pre-dates the world-changing events of 9/11 but inevitably that fateful day hangs heavy over a play where the focus is wider. “It’s a play about cause and effect, whether people are aware of the effect of their actions or not,” says Julian. “It explores the idea that what you do, whether you know it or not, has an effect on other people.

“In terms of social responsibility, it’s that old question of when do you say ‘No’, when you could do something or you could step back and do nothing. The play doesn’t say it’s wrong to do nothing; it just presents the question.”

The Presnyakov Brothers also ask if the “tiny little acts of terrorism we commit on each other lead to a long-term impact”. “They examine whether something that you think of as a personal choice might have a much bigger effect, such as an affair having disastrous implications, and they wonder if thinking about a terrorist act is almost as bad as consummating it,” says Julian. “In posing lots of questions for you, some of the answers are clear but some are oblique and I like that contrast.”

Julian was aware that Terrorism could be an off-putting title when he chose the play, but he is quick to point out: “It doesn’t feature cataclysmic events but very personal events, small acts that could lead to greater acts of terrorism.

“That’s something that’s hard to communicate…but we’re lucky that we can create work that’s right for our young performers. As a contemporary piece that’s relevant and challenges them, this play absolutely fits the bill."

For Terrorism, Julian is directing a cast of nine blossoming actors aged 18 to 25, three of them old hands from Equus, Freddie Hall, Luke James and Becca Beattie, who are joined by company newcomers Danny Desiano Plummer, Robert Kodama, J. Raphael Richards, Morven Hamilton, Katie Baskeyfield and Katie Williamson.

“The company has to keep freshening up the cast or people will feel they can’t get in," he says. "It’s really important to pull in new people, and this time they come from different stages of their theatre careers: undergraduates, mainly from the University of York; postgraduates, a young mother; two are on their year out; Luke works in the Theatre Royal box office.

“Terrorism is definitely a dark-humoured play, and there’ll be times when the audience will laugh and feel uncomfortable about that situation, but that means it’s a very exposing piece for the cast too, which will be good for them.”

York Theatre Royal Young Actors Company presents Terrorism in The Studio, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow until Saturday, 7.45pm. Box office: 01904 623568.