A hard-hitting play will be performed to hundreds of young people throughout the Thames Valley, warning of the dangers of becoming involved in violence.

‘Boy X’ will be performed by London-based Arc Theatre, and explores carrying weapons, gang culture, peer pressure, and the impact of crime on families, against a cycle of revenge and violence.

The play will be taken to schools, clubs and on to the streets of five areas of Thames Valley over a two-week period from Tuesday.

Boy X forms an element of the Force’s efforts to prevent knife crime and serious youth violence in five key areas, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Reading, Slough and High Wycombe.

The tour will be funded by some of the £100,000 awarded to the Force from the Home Office’s Tackling Knife Action Plan II (TKAP) grant.

It will complement locally-arranged TKAP-funded activities planned for each area.

Chief Insp Lindsey Finch said: “Anyone who sees this play cannot fail to be moved by it or understand its message: that carrying a knife or becoming involved in violent gangs simply doesn’t pay.

“Knife crime and serious youth violence is not a major problem in Thames Valley and we want to keep it that way.

“We have identified five areas in the force which we believe are vulnerable and by taking this play to young people in these areas, we aim to prevent the growth of serious violence among young people in the long term.

“Because we do not have a major problem with knife crime or serious youth violence in Thames Valley, we aim to ensure that as many young people as possible see this play to help prevent this situation from changing.”