Selva Rasalingam, right, plays Tottenham resident Mohamed Hammoudan, who lived above the Carpetright store, in The Riots. Photo: Tristram Kenton.

A critically-acclaimed play on the August riots that rocked Tottenham is set to transfer to an arts centre a stone’s throw from the heart of the unrest.

The Tricycle Theatre’s production of The Riots will run at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in the New Year for 10 days after a sell-out run at the original Kilburn venue.

The play builds a real-time picture of the riots as they unfolded - from tweets by taxi drivers to moment-by-moment accounts by riot police - and then analyses what happened and why.

It was written by author Gillian Slovo, who spent weeks collecting testimonies from lawyers, police officers, firefighters, probation officers, victims and imprisoned rioters.

In all she collected more than 56 hours of material, which has been boiled down into a compelling play where actors play MPs, policemen, looters and victims.

John Baraldi, chief executive of Bernie Grant Arts Centre, said: “We are so overwhelmingly pleased that this important theatrical event is coming to Tottenham.

“For us, it is not only an important piece of theatre, but it also contributes to the process of a community trying to make sense of a huge tragedy which deeply wounded and confused it.

“We feel that Tottenham is the ideal location for such an important piece of theatre, which examines events that rocked not only Tottenham but England as a whole.

“This amazing new arts centre, named after Britain’s first black MP, is only a few hundred yards from where the troubles began, and it is therefore appropriate that Tottenham itself has the opportunity to contribute to the healing process which must now take place.

“We estimate that over 4,000 people will be able to see the production here – not only people from Tottenham but also people from all over London and the south east who need to see what an amazing place Tottenham really is.”

*The Riots runs from January 4 to 14 at Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, South Tottenham. Tickets priced £9.50, £11.50 and £25 are available from the centre on 020 8365 5450, in person at the box office from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, or online at www.berniegrantcentre.co.uk.