Eastern and western traditions came together in a play by school children set in the Mughal empire.

The ground-breaking production has brought together several Manningham primary schools, and it will now be taken 'on tour' to youngsters in more rural parts of the district.

The young cast of performers, pictured, was assembled from inner city schools under the Gifted and Talented scheme for more able children.

Anne Lee, who is the co-ordinator for the Gifted and Talented scheme in Bradford, said the sensitive performances by the youngsters brought tears to her eyes.

"They have a maturity you would not normally find in children of this age group," she said. "They have had a break from the project to do SATs, but when they came back to the rehearsal, they had all remembered their lines."

The children have been inspired by the show's director, Alex Fellowes, who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and recently wrote a book about how to teach the Bard to children whose first language isn't English. His emphasis has been on producing a cross-cultural experience.

"The play celebrates not only South Asian music, costume and poetry, but also language drawn from the same period in English culture, the age of Shakespeare," he said.

"The children taking part have been exploring the rich and colourful period in history when the Mogul empire was a magnet for poets, musicians, merchants and princes not just from the east but also from the west."

He added: "In Europe this was the time of the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment. Likewise in India under Shah Jehan, this was a period of enormous cultural activity. Our play aims to reflect this coming together of eastern and western traditions."

The children's beautiful costumes were made by two groups of parents, one at Lilycroft Primary School and one at Thornbury Primary, learning new skills under the Kapda project. Mum Hajrah Iqbal, who helped embroider a beautiful silk-covered doli or bridal carriage with three other women, said: "I picked up a leaflet explaining that you could learn new skills. There were four of us working on the doli, we got together twice a week at Cartwright Hall. It's now going to be put on display."

The young actors were Year 6 pupils from Iqra, Springwood and Girlington primary schools while the musicians came from Girlington, Heaton St Barnabas, Lilycroft, Margaret McMillan and Westbourne primaries.