A PLAY exploring race and identity by the writer and artist Nana-Kofi Kufuor is coming to Oldham library next month.

My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored takes the audience to the centre of a discussion that asks, ‘if you see something you do not agree with, do you intervene’?

Nana-Kofi Kufuor drew on his own experience growing up in Stockport with Ghanian parents and working in education with young people from a range of backgrounds when creating the play.

My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored opens with 15-year-old Reece (Jelani D’Aguilar) being roughly accosted by police. His young, Black teacher Gillian (Misha Duncan-Barry) witnesses it all but doesn’t question or intervene as the disturbing scene plays out. The consequences of her lack of action erupt the following day when Gillian finds herself locked in a classroom with Reece.

Nana-Kofi said: “The crux of this play is how two people react to the same situation. They go on a journey, a journey a lot of people of colour go on, a realisation that where you are now isn’t necessarily where you come from.”

Director Dermot Daly said: “I was really taken by the conceit and breadth of themes and ideas. Thematically it’s huge, but ostensibly it’s about the meaning and creation of identity which is something that affects us all.

"Neither character is who they want to be but both appear to be trapped, robbed of agency, this perception in them and hopefully of the audience shifts quite dramatically as we progress. Worry not, there are a few gags in there.”

The stage debut will run at Oldham Library on Monday, November 15 and Tuesday, November 16.