Decky Does a Bronco became a hit a decade ago, surprising audiences by using a playground location and acrobatic performances.

This revival, in the lovely Florence Park, arrives in Oxford after enjoying a favourable reaction at the Edinburgh Festival. It retains all of the original physical thrills, and yet these aspects seem less important second time around.

Instead, playwright Douglas Maxwell’s drama emerges as an elegant miniature, with sparkling comic dialogue interspersed with touching elegiac moments. At just over an hour long, the story winds around the events of a few days in a single summer. Different actors depict a group of boys both as they were in the 1980s and as they are today. The boys spend their time fighting and bickering, as well as attempting to pull off a ‘Bronco’, a kind of trick involving a swing.

The play does have some minor uneven moments, but it feels churlish to look for flaws when the cast give such superb performances. They are ably led by Martin McCormick (pictured) who is outstanding as David; he both narrates the play and is its nagging conscience.

The portrait of bored kids is excellently crafted and will ring especially true for any child of the Thatcher era, with its range of reference skipping from Dallas to the A-Team and Star Wars.

Occasionally reminiscent of Dennis Potter’s Blue Remembered Hills, the play explores the extravagant joys of childhood alongside the cruelty of children themselves, and the way that the world confounds and threatens them.

The script builds to a powerful emotional climax, and Maxwell’s poignant lines will linger with you as you make your way home out of the darkness of the park. Exceptionally good drama – turn off X-factor or EastEnders for one night this week and go and see it. Until Sunday. Box office 01865 305305, or tickets can be bought on the night.