FOLLOWING its Fringe First-winning premiere at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010, Oxford Playhouse’s resident company Shared Experience brings the astounding play Speechless to Dorset this month.

This extraordinary true story of identical twins June and Jennifer Gibbons will be brought to life at Lighthouse in Poole on September 27 and 28.

Inspired by Marjorie Wallace’s best-selling book The Silent Twins, Polly Teale and Linda Brogan’s poignant play is an astonishing portrayal of the secret world of a very special but ultimately destructive alliance between two sisters.

Against a 1980s backdrop of race riots and a royal wedding, their story is touched by isolation, bullying, racism and the legacy of imperialism.

June and Jennifer’s parents were post-war immigrants to the UK from Barbados and the twins were brought up on an RAF base in Wales, where their father and mother struggled to fit in with a close-knit English military community.

The twins communicated in their own private language and withdrew into an exclusive and turbulent relationship.

Increasingly troubled, they were committed in their teens to high security mental hospital Broadmoor, where they were to spend 14 years as their story headed towards its eventual end.

The production premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2010, where it received outstanding reviews, exceptional audience response and the Fringe First award.

The touring production reunites original cast members Natasha Gordon and Demi Oyediran as Jennifer and June and Anita Reynolds as their mother.

Performances at Lighthouse are at 7.30pm, with a 2.30pm matinee on the Wednesday.

Call 0844 406 8666 for bookings and full details.