THE most enduring of all Stagecoach Youth Theatre York productions takes to the boards once more with its youngest cast yet.

The musical melodrama Run Ragged will be staged at the Stagecoach Studio Theatre, Trinity Hall, Monkgate, York, from Wednesday to Saturday in a new revival by writer-director John Cooper.

"Run Ragged will be remembered by four intakes of young people as their introduction to drama through Stagecoach," says Cooper, who first presented the play more than ten years ago.

Inspired by a ghost story told by Mark Graham, founder of the Original Ghost Walk of York, the melodrama is set in the Bedern area of York in the 1850s. There stood an infamous workhouse where, it is believed, many young children suffered and some lost their lives while under the control of the evil Master Pym.

"Even today it is said that the voices of singing children can be heard in the streets around Bedern after midnight and it was this ghostly fact that triggered my dramatic interpretation," says Cooper.

The show tackles the serious themes of abuse and racism towards the Irish children in the workhouse but never loses sight of the courage and resilience of the children.

The 20-strong cast of boys and girls has an average age of ten and is complemented by five senior Stagecoach members in the adult roles, including Mark MacDonald as Pym and Anna Holbek as the governess and teacher Miss Pinchjohn.

Anna has a further role, as associate director. "Run Ragged has been a particularly exciting and moving experience for both myself and all the wonderful children involved," she says.

Performances are at 7.30pm and tickets cost £6, concessions £4, on 01904 674675.

Updated: 08:59 Friday, October 17, 2003