THE next play at the Octagon Theatre will reunite two actors for a couple’s frank and powerful story.

Next week Two and Two2 pairing Katy Cavanagh and Colin Connor are returning to the Bolton stage for David Rudkin’s Ashes.

The play follows the struggle of a couple as they try to have a child.

Having worked on the project for the last few weeks, it has become a personal and important piece of work for both actors.

Colin said: “Someone put on the Facebook comments when the play was announced, ‘rarely performed equals not very good’. I was that close to replying ‘come and find out for yourself!’

“It is incredibly powerful, relevant and beautiful and raises all sorts of questions.

“I also think it’s inspirational. My character is bisexual and the love shared with Katy’s character is something very special and beautiful and very strong.”

Set in the 1970s Anne, Katy Cavanagh, and Colin, Colin Connor, desperately want a child and try everything to achieve this dream.

They subject themselves to the indignity of trailing from doctor to specialist to consultant, and suffer the humiliation of feeing sexually and socially inadequate.

Through their struggle they come to question themselves and the compulsion to want a child.

For Colin, who won the Manchester Theatre Award for An Actor in a Leading Role last year for his performance in A View from a Bridge at the Octagon, the play and its subject matter have a very personal connection.

He explains: “I’ve had the personal experience, unfortunately. My wife and I had a baby recently. She was an IVF baby.

“We started our journey three years ago and tried for years. There wasn’t any IVF at the time the play is set but there are a lot of similarities, such as the question of adoption which is raised in the story.

“It is a very personal to me and, also, the character is from Belfast which is where I’m from.”

Ashes is directed by Associate Artistic Director David Thacker and completing the cast of four are John Branwell and Kate Coogan, who will be taking on various roles throughout the play.

The actors have also had the privilege of welcoming author David Rudkin into the rehearsal rooms to help with the production.

Katy, who grew up in Bolton, spoke of her joy at being reunited with Colin on stage and her admiration of the piece.

She said: “It’s fab to come home and for me coming to work here is lovely. I’m working with some amazing actors.

“It is always great to work with someone you have already worked with, especially Colin, we know each other so well.

“It surprised me, it’s such a brilliant play. It has been performed all over the world from places like Israel and New York. Even through it is set in the 70s, it is incredibly relevant — there are always people trying to have babies. It is frank, unsentimental, it doesn't pull its punches but there is a really lovely humour in it too.

"I don't think I've seen a play on this subject before but it is a subject people feel very strongly about.

"Trying to have a child is an incredibly complicated process, if it's not going well you worry about what it wrong with you.

"There are so many women who have gone through that.

"But people don't tend to talk about it, this challenges you to talk about it, it challenges the stigma of sexuality.

"The play is quite unexpected and unpredictable. I don't think it goes where you think it will at all — it is shocking and it is incredibly uplifting."

Ashes plays from February 23 to March 11.