I went in to see Bad Lads blind, having not heard of the Medomsley Detention Centre before. The fact that an abuse scandal with over 1800 reported victims is not common knowledge is exactly why this play needs to exist. It is not an easy watch, but it’s a vital one nonetheless.

Upon entering the theatre, white words on a black screen promised me that “this play is short, sharp and shocking” - which is the only way to summarise this viewing experience. In fact, this very phrase appeared in Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 Conservative Manifesto, which promised that the party would "experiment with a tougher regime as a short, sharp shock for young criminals". Such policies led to the rise of youth detention centres such as Medomsley, a prison for young male offenders near Consett that was active from 1961 until the late 1980s. Bad Lads was created from a story by inmate Jimmy Coffey and the testimonies of the Medomsley men.

The play follows the character of Jackie, who ended up at Medomsley after stealing a milk float and is depicted by three actors simultaneously - his older self (Danny Raynor), his younger self (Robin Paley Yorke) and a BSL interpreter (Craig Painting). At first a spirited and cheeky lad, we watch on in horror as he is slowly grinded down to a shadow of himself after the persistent physical and sexual abuse he faced at Medomsley.

The production is by far the best example of accessibility in theatre that I’ve ever seen; Craig and the subtitles on the screen were an integral part of the show and not just an afterthought. This genuinely enhanced the performance, allowing each word to hit home with increased velocity. Repetition is a key device in the script, and the way these repeated phrases violently flashed on the screen really encapsulated the oppressive feeling of being trapped in a cycle of abuse.

It’s a stripped back production, with just the three men on set with a table and chairs, but their physical acting and delivery of the razor sharp script is all that is needed to tell a heartbreaking story about the exploitation of working class men by the paedophiles and sadists who were able to thrive under the guise of authority. Much of the play is a conversation between the Jackies, and the way the terrified younger Jackie tries to make sense of the situation with the defeated, repressed older Jackie really hit home for me.

Such a story cannot be told gently or sensitively - it needs to be a gut punch, one that stays with us so that we never forget what these young men had to endure. Essential viewing.

Leanna Thomson