Clybourne Park, Mercury Theatre, Colchester. Until April 23. 01206 573948.

IT'S rather lovely to see a relatively new play at the Mercury Theatre, especially one that raises so many interesting issues.

At a time when this country is obsessively posing questions about Europe; race, community and the past is very relevant indeed.

And that's what we have in Bruce Norris' Clybourne Park. A play that deals with that massive American issue, race, but perhaps more importantly what it means to belong, and in particular belonging to a community.

The clever construct of the play is it's set in the same house but in two generations. First we have the late Fifties and the prospect of a black family moving into a predominantly white neighbourhood and then there's the present-day in which a white couple is moving into the very same house but this time being judged by the black community.

But what is really neat about Norris' concept is that the six actors in the first act each play a different character in the second, which allows for some very smart comparisons.

There's Karl and Steve, a brilliant performance by Ben Deery, two men from very different periods in time, who are both, in their own way, struggling with race. Then there's timid Fifties home help Francine, who is forthright but only to her husband, and the provocative and principled Lena, who doesn't give two hoots about offending anyone. Two very different characters both of which were honestly and wonderfully portrayed by Gloria Onitiri.

It feels slightly wrong not to mention everyone, because as an ensemble they were all excellent, but I also really liked Mark Womack and Rebecca Manley's Fifties mum and dad, both heart-breakingly coming to terms with their son's death.

And for me that's what's really interesting about this piece.

Sure there are great swathes of funny, and at times uncomfortable, speeches about race but the real elephant in the play is the young man who took his own life because his community rejected him. It runs through both acts symbolised by a rather large trunk, which you think is buried in the past but comes back to deliver a very poignant finale.

It's a beautiful piece of theatre which is so much more than just about race. Go and see it.

NEIL D'ARCY-JONES