YOUNG actors have been performing a play set in medieval Japan.

Pupils at Queen Mary's School, Topcliffe, staged Samurai as part of a celebration of youth drama led by the National Theatre.

Critics from the National were there to assess the performance which has a chance of being included in a celebratory festival in London.

Kate Vaughan, head of drama at the school, said: "The girls took charge of the production themselves and have learnt a tremendous amount in the process. As well as acting, they researched the place and period of the play, designed, made and decorated their costumes, choreographed and rehearsed their own movement sequences as well as sourcing and making many of the props."