SCHOOLCHILDREN in Oxford have helped devise a play around UK football’s worst tragedy.

The 20 members of Pegasus Youth Theatre, aged between 12 and 15, were not even born when 96 people were killed and hundreds injured at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough football ground in 1989 during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

The play, which will be performed for the first time at the Magdalen Road theatre at the end of this month, focuses on three young people affected in different ways by the events.

And the audience will form part of the action, with the auditorium recreated as sections of the football ground.

Director Cathryn Baker said: “At the start of the rehearsal process, a lot of them were not even aware of it.

“I showed them a lot of videos and there was a moment when I said ‘what do you think about doing a piece of theatre about it’ and they said ‘that's awful’.

“But what we wanted to do was reignite people’s thinking about it.”

Working with Miss Baker, writer Sarah Nelson, movement director Karl Sullivan and production designer Dionne Barber, the group came up with ’Til I Die – based on three fictional characters.

The show will be at Pegasus from Wednesday, January 25, to Saturday, January 28.

Isabella Figueiredo, 13, from Summertown, is among those taking part.

She said: “I’ve never done a play based on recent history. I’ve loved researching and playing people from 23 years ago.”

And Harry Peach, 13, from Cowley, said: “It’s been a really good experience to find out about Hillsborough and what happened and create a show based on the events.”

Among those hoping to see the play will be a contingent from Oxford United FC.

The club has recently forged a partnership with the theatre.

Striker Deane Smalley, 23, visited the theatre on Wednesday to meet some of the youngsters involved.

He said: “I think it’s very important for young people to know about Hillsborough.

“I was only one when it happened so I only knew a little bit, so to watch the play will be a good experience for me.”

  • During the FA Cup semi-final tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield's Hillsborough stadium on April 15, 1989, there was a human crush in one of the stands resulting in the worst stadium disaster in British history.

Ninety-six people were killed and a further 766 injured, all fans of Liverpool, after too many people were let into the steel-fenced pens.

The match was abandoned six minutes in.

A report into the disaster concluded the main reason was the failure of police control.

The findings of the Taylor Report into the disaster meant standing terraces were banned in all major football stadiums in England and Scotland.

Following calls for more information to be made public about the disaster, all documents relating to the events are expected to be released this year.