Detainee A

An anti-terror raid on a family home in Glasgow is the starting point for this twist-laden drama about fear, secrets and suspicion, performed by a large cast of amateur actors.

The detainee of the title is Ali, a British-born Asian student who helps out in his dad's shop, plays football with his mates and teases his kid brother. According to the police, he's also a jihadist.

Adapted from a screenplay by Shahid Nadeem, Vivien Adam's play retains a cinematic structure with lots of short scenes and a running time of almost exactly 90 minutes.

Director Cora Bissett has coaxed some impressive performances from the cast, who came together at Ankur workshops, but occasionally mis-fires with distracting use of music and muddled pivotal scenes.

There's also plenty of deliberate ambiguity. Red herrings abound in what makes for an unflinching take on an extremely sensitive subject - one that arguably a company without Ankur's multi-cultural credentials wouldn't have the nerve to present.

While the style of the production often strays close to soap opera, it raises plenty of interesting questions and isn't afraid to see the story from all sides.

Ali's father is a well-liked member of the community, but when he learns of his son's relationship with a white girl his reaction reveals ugly prejudices. Cousin Ramzaan's views about Britain and Pakistan don't sit well with his relatives, but neither does a brick through the window.

Detainee A isn't an exercise in hand-wringing. It's not an earnest lecture about community relations. Rather, it's a piece of entertainment that happens to tackle a hugely important topic, head-on. As debuts go, it's a fantastic achievement. Hopefully we'll be hearing more from the Quantum Leap programme.