The cast and crew of Playfight. The play is on May 29, and May 31-June 3 at the Pleasance Theatre in North Road [Sharron Wallace]

BLACK children need to be given the same childhood as their peers, a barrister-turned-actor has argued ahead of the opening of a new work.

Written by Christina Algaratnam and based on Shereener Browne’s concept, Playfight at the Pleasance Theatre follows three best friends who get involved in a fight at school. It questions whether or not the school’s handling of the incident was because of the students’ ethnicities and how that can impact the rest of their lives.

“There’s a tipping point where children are no longer viewed as children, and I think that tipping point is earlier for black children and working-class children,” said Ms Browne.

“There’s this idea that they don’t deserve a childhood. I would like the audience to come away understanding that we just need to be a bit more compassionate and under­standing about what young people are going through.”

She added: “We have had black men who have come and seen the show in the past, and were tearful in saying ‘My gosh, this is what happened to me. I didn’t appreciate at the time the impact it had on me and how it has formed nearly every relationship since and informed my view of myself’,” she said.

Shereener Browne [Tom Trevatt]

Playfight also explores what happens when students are threatened with expulsion or excluded from school.

“They might feel like their future is hopeless [after expulsion or exclusion]. And if you think your future is hopeless, then you might engage in risky behaviour because you don’t think your life has any value,” said Ms Browne.

“Also, there’s been a myriad of reports on this and all the experts agree, expulsion is almost a direct line to criminality – it leaves kids vulnerable to being exploited by criminals.”

Ms Browne practised as a criminal defence barrister for 13 years before becoming an actor and creative. Her experience, she says, shows that plays like this one are essential.

“I was at the coalface of the criminal justice system, and it’s a horrible view,” she said.

“I’m told by my colleagues that it’s only getting worse. What was clear to me is that many of the young people I did represent, a lot of them were in the care system, and had they been treated properly and given opportunities and chances, they would not have turned to crime. The overwhelming majority were clever, entrepreneurial, misunderstood and excluded. And then they fell through the cracks of the care system or had parents who were too busy working and couldn’t focus on their needs.”