AN award-winning play which focuses on the relationship between a father and son in the wake of the September 11 attacks will be staged next month.

Bolton plasterer-turned-playwright Nick Yardley penned The Towers of Babel and it was first performed as part of the 24:7 Theatre Festival.

It is being staged at Manchester Maccabi Community and Sports Club, Bury Old Road, Prestwich, from Saturday, March 14, to Thursday, March 19.

Nick, a plasterer and tiler by trade, completed a creative writing degree at Bolton University.

He scooped the Octagon Theatre Bolton's annual Prize for Outstanding Drama, written by a University of Bolton student, for The Towers of Babel.

Ahead of the play's run, a launch was held at Manchester Maccabi which was attended by about 50 people, including representatives from many faith groups including Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Jewish, as well as Bolton Interfaith Council.

The play is set on September 11 and sees a Jewish father visit his son at a New York radio station that sits in the shadow of the World Trade Center.

It discusses a number of significant religious arguments that mirror the imminent disaster, with the overall message being one of tolerance between faiths.

The father-of-three, aged 47, who lives in Lostock, said: "The play on its own is not going to change the world or bring peace but it just takes us a little bit closer and it's a novel way of trying to get the message home.

"For some people they will sit there and watch the play and hopefully the message will trickle through.

"We are pretty similar.

"We all come from the same place, we want the same things and have got the same fears."

Written in 2012, following the 2001 terrorist attacks which saw two hijacked planes flown into the New York's World Trade Center killing more than 2,600 people, there have been a number of recent atrocities including beheadings by militant group ISIS and the murder of journalists at French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Nick said: "Since the play being on, there have been several incidents.

"That's the nature of ill-feeling.

"Hopefully the play can make a difference.

"We are trying to get lots and lots of younger people to come."

The matinee performances will be aimed at students in year nine and above, from all cultural backgrounds, and each afternoon show will be followed by a chance for the audience to meet director David Ricardo-Pearce and the cast.

Nick said: "As a Bolton writer, I learned my craft at Bolton University, where I graduated with a first class degree in creative writing.

"The university are the major sponsor of this project, along with help from The Arts Council.

"I still combine writing with my ongoing career as a plasterer and tiler, which is handy, because I'm physically building the theatre in the otherwise empty function room at Manchester Maccabi."

Performances take place at 8pm with 1.30pm shows on Wednesday, March 18, and Thursday, March 19.

Tickets cost £9, visit ibookedit.com/towersofbabel.