The National Theatre Connections festival is a unique festival in which the new work of playwrights from across the country is showcased by youth theatres and schools. This month, the youth groups perform their pieces at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, one of the host venues for the festival. I saw Heritage by Dafydd James, performed by Hemsworth Arts and Community College.

Heritage is a darkly comedic play set in a sleepy, strongly nationalist village, and revolves around a group of children who are chosen to sing at the close of the village’s Mayday festivities. They are gathered into a livestock pen surrounded by an electrified fence, and are unable to leave once they arrive. As they begin to rehearse their song, the children gradually become aware that they are being watched, and realise that they have been chosen for a purpose much darker than closing the village’s Mayday festival.

The play has a tense, gripping plot, and has plenty of subtle nods to the corruption that nationalism can cause, such as consuming an individual’s identity. It is James’ combination of unique and interesting characters that bring his script to life, and it presents issues that young people face to the audience. In fact, it’s a bit of a cross between Headlong’s most recent productions 1984 and Spring Awakening, only a little less dark and much more comedic.

In addition to the dark comedy and occasional surges of seriousness, which is balanced incredibly well in the play, one of Heritage’s key focal points is its use of imagery. The set design as a whole helps to represent the play’s link to nationalism, with the electrified fence representing society’s grip on its followers, with the hay bales in the livestock pen suggesting that they become reduced to nothing more than animals. The imagery created by the ensemble is also effective, as the tightly-knit bunch of children represent the uniform nature of nationalism and the collective identity that it creates. The final image of the play – a guitar leaned against a hay bale in a spotlight – really stood out and symbolised the corrupting power of nationalism.

The National Theatre Connections festival is unique, mainly because it gives young people an opportunity to explore issues and concepts in society, and present them to an audience in the form of a powerful piece of theatre. Heritage is one such example, and Hemsworth Arts and Community College bring to the audience a darkly comedic, resonant tale of corruption and identity.

Heritage is part of the National Theatre Connections festival. For more information, dates and tickets, see the Connections website on the National Theatre’s website.