A play aimed at youngsters entitled "Christmas in Hell'' was yesterday slammed by a child expert.

The play, showing this weekend at the New Testament Church of God in Hamilton, depicts a graphic tour around Hell.

And one child worker claimed the Christmas play -- the first of its kind in Bermuda -- could cause psychological damage to young people.

Mrs. Sheelagh Cooper of the Coalition for the Protection of Children said she would need to see the play before assessing its likely impact.

But she said: "Something which is on offer to the general public which would be unhealthy to children would be of concern to us. Certainly on the face of it, it seems to be a bit concerning.

"We try to protect children from some of the things they could see on TV and live theatre can be a lot more frightening than a TV show.

"It's not something I would take my children to -- it's certainly possible to adversely affect children with frightening displays in a theatrical setting.'' The play features fire-and-brimstone effects, the Devil and his demons and souls in torment.

Advertising posters for the play show the face of Christ above a man being consumed by flames.

The play will start with the Crucifixion of Christ and move to a 20th century family scene where a teenage boy tells his family he won't have anything to do with religion over the Christmas period because he wants to play with his friends.

The church's youth director Dennis Burgess said: "As a result of hanging out with his friends, the boy who didn't want to have anything to do with religion is killed.'' The action ultimately moves to Hell, where the condemned tell the audience of the sins that landed them there.

Mrs. Cooper said: "If the objective is to scare children into behaving themselves, it's a very unfortunate way to teach them.'' But Mr. Burgess said: "Our church believes there is eternal damnation for those who don't do right. We take this message beyond this life and into the next and show what happens if people don't live their life right.'' He admitted that some youngsters could find the play disturbing and upsetting -- but added that adults tended to shy away from showing children the consequences of their actions.

"It was something we thought about and it's something we have tried to address and we also try to make people aware that this might not be a fun place to bring their kids to,'' he said.

"At the same time, people who might try and keep their children away from such a message have no problem with letting their children see horror movies.

"The church can't teach a serious message about Hell, but the movie industry can preach anything about horror.'' And he added: "At the end the message is of hope -- it ends with the resurrection of Christ and he is the final figure on the stage.'' HELLISH -- A frighteningly realistic mask from "Christmas in Hell''.

THEATRE THR