STAGECOACH Youth Theatre York presents for the first time in York the unexpurgated version of Bryony Lavery's controversial and often shocking play for young people, More Light.

Directed by professionals Sarah Punshon and Daniel Bye, the production demonstrates Stagecoach's commitment to the most challenging demands of youth theatre.

"It was totally our choice to do this play," says Sarah. "I was reading around the subject of Bryony Lavery plays when I directed Frozen for Theatre By The Lake in Keswick earlier this year, and I came across this play.

"It's a play with big ideas and big issues and it's extraordinarily theatrical, so it's great for youth theatres, especially as it has so many female roles, which always helps with casting."

More Light portrays the passage of 14 concubines interred with the Chinese emperor after his death. How long can they survive? After all, there is only one source of food: the emperor himself.

As time passes, the women are driven to increasingly desperate measures, but in their captivity, they find a liberation that service of the emperor could never allow and discover things about themselves they would have never thought possible before.

Joyful and funny as well as intense and disturbing, More Light was written by Bryony Lavery for the NT Shell Connections series of new commissions for youth theatre. "I think it's a crazy piece!" says Daniel. "At times it's dark and at first it doesn't feel like an obvious youth theatre piece but it doesn't patronise them, and I think it's now even stronger for being done in the uncut version for the first time in York."

Stagecoach Youth Theatre York, More Light, Stagecoach Studio Theatre, Trinity Hall, York, October 26 to 28, 7.30pm. Tickets: £7, concessions £5, on 01904 674675.