The Junior Oxford Youth Theatre group, for ten- to 13-year-olds, is staging its first full-length play at the Pegasus Theatre, in Magdalen Road, until Saturday night, writes Paula Clifford.

Described by one of the cast as "a very weird play", David Ashton's The Golden Door tells of two tribes in a dark underworld, the Jagged Ones and the Pus Balls, who are shown the door to a better world of light by a mysterious stranger.

With the author's support, the production team has expanded the play to include a host of new characters (the Pus Balls do not appear on stage in the original) and have set them in an imaginative dream landscape of towering rocks and horrible monsters.

The young cast, with their crystal-clear voices and confident fluency, clearly relish the fast-moving action.

The aggressive and street-wise Jagged Ones are splendidly led by Zip (Eleanor Cartwright) and Zap (Simone Hendry) as they struggle with their rivals, suffer loss and tension in their ranks, and make the momentous decision to try the new world.

True to OYT tradition, this production is marked by imaginative choreography devised by Lati Saka, and intelligent use of sound and lighting. There is also a magnificent giant, who unlike some stage monsters is really enormous, skilfully operated by Jack Carter, Deanne Reid and Matt Seymour.

Directed by Yasmin Sidhwa, The Golden Door is a memorable milestone in the development of this young company.