YOUNG actors have won acclaim for a recent production of the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar.

Members of the Turrets, the youth section of Barnard Castle-based drama group the Castle Players, performed the play at Mickleton Village Hall over two nights.

The group, who are all aged 16 or under, adapted the play to a modern context to make a case for the futility of war.

Cassie Flint, who watched the play, said: "The incredible thing is that because the play was entirely acted by children, their performance had an innocence and incisive resonance that I do not think would have been there if adults had been the actors."

The four male leads, Oliver Smith as Caesar, Nathan Greener as Brutus, Edward Cole as Mark Antony and Steven Bainbridge as Cassius drew a lot of praise, as did the direction of Jill Cole.