THE Courtyard's Intermediate Youth Theatre takes to the stage next month with three thought-provoking one-act plays.

Two of the groups are comprised of Year 10 students, for whom this will be their first intermediate performance, and the third is made up of Year 11 students, who had their first experience at this level with last year's performances of Little Foot and Black Out.

"The last thing the Year 10 groups would have done would have been Jungle Book, so these shows, Illyria by Bryony Lavery and Gargantua by Carl Grose, are a big change and a big challenge for them," says Ellen Dorsett, who is directing Illyria. "That's apparent when they look at me and say 'You want us to do what?'

"To go from productions with elaborate sets and costumes to no sets and having to work to create mood and character without them is very different, as is moving away from family content to something more difficult," Ellen adds. "They do sometimes ask if we can get away with what we're doing."

As the groups move on to tackle more adult work, Ellen explains that she and fellow director David Durant, contact parents early on in the process, inviting them to call if they have any concerns. "But we've only had one phone call. I think it's very good for them to do something mature and challenging.

"We're at the stage of the production where they're just beginning to realise that what they're doing is very impressive - it's an opportunity for them to show off," says Ellen. "And I wouldn't have chosen Illyria if the group weren't as good as they are."

Illyria tells the story of the British journalist Maria Vargas, who is sent to the country of Illyria to interview the wife of the country's dictator. However, things don't go according to plan and Maria suddenly finds herself in the middle of a world of darkness, violence and torture in war-torn Illyria.

David Durant is directing Gargantua by Carl Grose, an absurdist play about a gigantic baby, whose doesn't stop growing and causes mass hysteria and leads the government to order a nuclear strike, and The prince of Denmark by Mark Leslie, a play that looks at Hamlet's life several years before the events of Shakespeare's play, when the tragic hero dreams of the future.

The Courtyard Intermediate Youth Theatre will be on stage at The Courtyard from Friday, April 11 to Sunday, April 13 at 7pm. Friday: Illyria (Year 10) and The Prince of Denmark (Year 11); Saturday: Gargantua and Illyria (Year 10); Sunday: Gargantua and Prince of Denmark. To book, call the box office on 01432 340555 or visit courtyard.org.uk