The meaning of our existence and humans’ impact on the planet is explored in a thought-provoking, nightmarish play staged by youngsters at Kensington Arts.

The talented young cast of 16 actors aged 13 to 18, performed award-winning playwright Leo Butler’s new play Innocent Creatures for the first time at the Douglas venue at the weekend.

Over the course of an hour, the audience was taken on a terrifying journey starting in the near future with Big Ben underwater and people being rescued from ice floes - in a world where robots are in charge.

They choose who is exterminated (hairy men) and who is rescued/captured by robots to be taken to a Holiday Inn and reprogrammed.

Any mention of your parents results in a painful electric shock.

Moving forward in time and the androids are living in lush rainforest, eating only the vegetation. They believe the beginning of all life was in a factory.

Fast forward again and the sun is dying and about to explode.

The two central characters who hold the timeline together are the teenagers Enid, (Lola Sutton and later Maddie Wood) and Mia. She was played entirely on Friday by Emily Musgrove as Ffion Holder was unavailable to take up her role in the opening scene.

The characters go on very different journeys.

Enid is rescued and has a chip implanted in her neck. For the rest of time she is 13.

Mia, an ‘illegal’ who’d rather die than be picked up by the robots, drowns in the ocean.

But she is brought back to life thousands of years later by the robots and meets up with Enid and her robotic pet hamster one final time.

It’s a real team effort to successfully pull off this sci-fi play with the well-considered sound and lighting effects (Tadgh Hall and Cici Reed on sound and Xenia Bentley-Garcia and Tom Darnill on lighting) relying on precise timing with the actors’ movements.

They’ve clearly had some fun deciding how to portray the lighter side of life in the future through the use of virtual reality headsets.

That contrasts with sadness, loneliness and the violence. One character opens their wrists to reveal wires while another’s eyes are gouged out and replaced with implants.

The cast comprises Ana Bragaglia, David Livsey, Emily Musgrove, Eve Puzzar, Ffion Holder, Imogen Cowell, Joey Hills, Lacey Cannell, Lexi Forbes, Lola Sutton, Maddie Wood, Rowan Weeks, Scarlet Brophy, Sophie Hewitt, Sophie Hindson and Zac Colligan.

The youngsters will next be performing Innocent Creatures, directed by David Dawson, at The Theatre Royal in York, in April.

Their trip has been supported by the Isle of Man Arts Council, Douglas Choral Union and Paragon Recruitment.

The play is sure to make an impact there too.