IT’S 2011 and it’s 1958.

London is rioting in both time periods, and in the modern day Candice stands on a precipice.

Will she do the right thing and learn to be true to herself, or is she destined to repeat the mistakes of the past?

Advice for the Young at Heart is a new play written by Roy Williams, acclaimed writer of Sucker Punch, whose works are regularly produced by the National Theatre and the Royal Court.

The work has been commissioned and developed by Theatre Centre and will be at Salisbury Playhouse next week.

It is a hard-hitting work that looks at themes including bereavement, gang culture, race, family, relationships and loyalty. It examines the unrest of summer 2011 against the backdrop of the 1958 race riots.

The action moves between the dilemma faced by Candice in 2011 and the situation her recently deceased grandfather found himself facing more than 50 years earlier.

Director Natalie Wilson said: “It looks at some of the moral dilemmas and issues young people are facing today, looking at them within the differences and similarities of young people in 1958.

“They may be wearing different clothes and listening to different music but some of the life choices are very similar.

“Candice is torn between loyalty to her boyfriend and to her oldest friend. Her boyfriend is coercing her and she is caught between a rock and a hard place.”

Candice is being asked by her gangster boyfriend to set a honeytrap for her friend. She is grieving for her grandfather and angry about what happened in the past.

The four-person play was written with young people aged 14 and upwards in mind, but Williams says it is also relevant to adults.

“It is a great play,” she added. “It is well-written and has fantastic performances. It is a high quality, thoughtful and provocative piece that transcends age, and it is a rare opportunity to see a play by Roy Williams outside of London.”

Advice for the Young at Heart is part of a series of contemporary dramas in The Salberg from some of the country’s most exciting theatre companies.

New writing powerhouse Soho Theatre and internationally acclaimed Fringe First winners Nabokov are presenting Blink, a new play by Bruntwood Playwriting Prize-winner Phil Porter, on Monday, February 3 and Tuesday, February 4.

Blink is a love story; funny, dysfunctional, voyeuristic, but a love story all the same. Against the lonely backdrop of London, the worlds of two shy individuals collide and unfold.

Blink is performed by Thomas Pickles, whose recent productions include The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Mouse and His Child for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Lizzy Watts who has recently performed in the UK and international tour of Filter Theatre’s Twelfth Night.

On Wednesday, February 5 Floods of Ink presents M for Medea – a bold and striking approach to Euripedes’ classic text.

It explores the lengths people will go to when they think they are right, and the challenges and assumptions inherent in all human relationships. This is a modern story of betrayal that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats.

Out of Joint returns from Tuesday, February 11 to Saturday, February 15 with Ciphers, a smart and provocative thriller about spies, double agents, and the opaqueness of the human soul from the award-winning writer Dawn King.

For more information or tickets go to salisburyplayhouse.com or call 01722 320333.