Class Act Ukraine in Scotland Showcase at the Traverse Theatre Edinburgh

There's nothing better than seeing children engaging in the theatre from an early age.

They are not only our future audiences but our future actors and technicians. AND our future playwrights!

Formed at the Traverse Theatre, Class Act is one organization which is making inroads into creating the theatre of tomorrow. For the past 34 years it has worked with over 100 school groups, created over 2,000 young writers and produced over 1,000 scripts which have, in turn, been performed by professional actors.

This, in itself, is amazing enough. But what happened this weekend truly deserves to be shouted from the rooftops.

Eight years ago Class Act started working with young people coming from the Ukraine, and on Saturday, for one hour, and after only four days of working together, 11 Ukrainian children from across Scotland's Central Belt saw their works performed by seven actors, headed by Maureen Beattie (OBE no less), star of countless TV series, from Doctor Who and Outlander, to the National Theatre and the RSC, and award-winning actor and film maker Matthew Zajac.

It was hard to believe that these vignettes of everyday life could cover such a wide spectrum, bearing in mind that the writers ranged in age from just nine to 17: trying to adjust to life in a foreign country and being bullied because they didn't speak the language, through making new friends, relationships, to how they see themselves and how the world sees them.

It was, at times, hard to watch. Out of the mouths of babes comes to mind as we began to understand what it must be like for so many innocent people fleeing the war. But there was so much humour too, especially from another award-winner, Michael Dylan, whose portrayals of hapless, naive characters had us laughing out loud while cowering as he became abusive.

Two Ukrainian actors really stood out for their compelling performances because they really felt. They weren't acting: Vera Graziadei's vulnerability and Dmitry Everdeen's quiet acceptance really hit home.

Beattie, as always, lit up the space with whichever character she was playing, whether it was a drunk or a loving mum, but there was one moment when she made us realise just how raw this production was. With only a day and a half of rehearsal the cast were, understandably, reading from scripts (but even so still managing to bring their characters to life) and in a scene in which a family were having to endure Christmas without family and no electricity, on a darkened stage Beattie exclaimed: 'I'm very sorry, I can't read the script and I've got lots more to say!'

Hopefully, Class Act and its young teams will have lots more to say in the future.