A NEW play about the prison meeting of Sam, a 25-year-old black man on Death Row, and Barbara, a white British woman old enough to be his mother, will receive its premiere in York as part of the new Studio season at York Theatre Royal.

Sara Clifford's A Special Relationship is to be directed for Three Legged Theatre Company by Lucy Pitman-Wallace.

Theatre Royal chief executive Ludo Keston says: "We've been involved in the development of this play which has had a number of readings here. Thanks to the start we gave it, it's now going to go on tour."

Three Legged Theatre are one of six companies making their Studio debut at York Theatre Royal this autumn. It links up with the Theatre Royal for a co-production of A Special Relationship from September 11 to 27.

Tutti Frutti Productions present Princess And The Pea, October 3 and 4; Full Body and The Voice stage Knock Knock on October 8 and 9; Yellow Earth Theatre make their York debut in Lear's Daughters, October 10 and 11; Coded Language on October 18 forms part of the 2003 SightSonic Festival; and Clean Break's black comedy Didn't Die visits York from October 21 to 23.

Tutti Frutti's Princess And The Pea, directed by Niladri with music by Dominic Sales, is a mischievous children's story about an unconventional princess and, yes, a pea.

"I knew about this Huddersfield company's work and I'm very keen to bring to York the work of companies based in Yorkshire," says Ludo. "On top of that, The Studio is a very nice place for children to get their first introduction to theatre. It's not a threatening space, and it's a lovely environment for a first show."

Full Body And The Voice, from Bradford, is a professional company of 12 non-disabled and learning-disabled performers whose Knock Knock show journeys to unconventional places where "personal dreams and desires take flight to provide a unique view on life".

"Over the past few years I have become more and more interested in this kind of work, and though I don't often get on my high horse about a theatre's responsibilities, I do about giving everyone a voice in the theatre," says Ludo.

"Learning-disabled theatre is one of the most ignored areas, and I believe that part of the theatre's job is to take off the blinkers. York is a fairly mono-cultural city and the more we can do to show there are other worlds out there, the better."

Yellow Earth Theatre is a London company of South Asian performers with a reputation for physical ensemble work. Lear's Daughters, by The Woman's Group and Elaine Feinstein, offers a playful, yet serious, alternative to the history of King Lear's three daughters, interwoven with real-life stories of British Chinese girls trying to communicate with their fathers today. "It's just a really good play and I'll be interested to see how they do it," says Ludo.

Coded Language, a "sensory snapshot of modern-day language and communication", will be premiered by Rommi Smith, Matthew Lazenby, Ed Heaton, Edward Torsney and Si McGrath with live and recorded music, projections, sampling, film and still imagery. "Rommi did a presentation for the Yorkshire Arts Mark Awards and we had 500 students there who really enjoyed her use of language," says Ludo.

Clean Break is a company of women ex-offenders, whose latest production, Annie Caulfield's Didn't Die, is a heart-warming black comedy that celebrates the friendship of three women in a tale of solidarity and survival.

"All their work deals with issues relating to women offenders and women in the mental health system," says Ludo. "So it's another voice to bring to the mix in The Studio."

For tickets and brochures, ring 01904 623568.

Updated: 10:06 Friday, August 08, 2003