John Cooper, director of Stagecoach Youth Theatre, York, follows up his experiment of working with older actors in Bazaar And Rummage by using the opposite end of the age spectrum in next week's production at Trinity Hall.

"It's no surprise that Stagecoach should be extending its repertoire with a 17th century comedy classic, Moliere's The Imaginary Invalid, but what makes the production very different is that it's being performed in the round by young people between the ages of nine and 14," John says.

Many of the cast members have cut their teeth on musicals such as Honk! and Snoopy, and Cooper acknowledges that tackling a classic play could have been an uphill struggle for such a young team.

However, nothing could be further from the truth, according to cast member Lizzy Hope. "Out of all the productions I've been involved in I feel this one has been the most challenging and beneficial, as I've been able to develop my character work and improve my acting technique," says Lizzy, who is 14.

Kit Hildyard, 12, is enjoying playing the lead role of Argan, the invalid of the title: "He reminds me of Victor Meldrew, because he's always moaning and selfish but he's soft-centred."

Stagecoach Youth Theatre likes to stretch its young charges, part of the justification for the financial support of the City of York Council education and leisure departments. "It's important to me, and my current co-director Celia Thatcher, who is a primary school teacher, that we never lose sight of the educational value of the company's work," John says.

Another new aspect is the staging in the round. Eleri Jones, 13, sums up the experience: "We've learnt an important skill in how to relate to an audience when they're all around you. It's much more exciting and more of a challenge to our concentration when we can see them and their reactions close up to us."

Amid the new, there is a familiar contributor, designer Janet Hull, who earlier this year worked on Stagecoach's Edinburgh Fringe show Moll Flanders. "The scenery for The Imaginary Invalid is minimal but the period costumes created by Janet will add a real splash of colour," John says.

The Imaginary Invalid, Stagecoach Youth Theatre, York, at Trinity Hall, Monkgate, York, November 6 to 9, 8pm. Tickets: £5, concessions £4, on 01904 674675.

Updated: 09:45 Friday, November 01, 2002