Gloria Williams' critically acclaimed play Bullet Hole at Park Theatre tackled the difficult issue of FGM.

Four years on, the Camden actor and playwright returns to Park Theatre with another hardhitting drama, which follows three London schoolfriends caught up in inequality, unemployment, and gang culture.

King Hamlin sees the titular Hamlin facing the difficult choice of drug trafficking to finish his schooling after his father's death. Along with friends Quinn and Nic, he reasons it's a means to an end of getting a good job and building a better life for himself and his beloved mother, Mama H.

But as the trio get sucked into gang life, the play compassionately deals with the nuances and desperate circumstances that lead to youth crime  - and the terrible consequences for their families.

Nic comes from a troubled background and is drawn towards war and action heroes; Nic is mentally young and seeks the wrong mentor figures; and Hamlin just wants to study and get a job while missing his dead father and wanting to support his struggling mother.

Williams says her play borrows inspiration from real-life incidents and her own experience of watching London crime levels rise and the media's portrayal of youth violence.

“It's about the very impressionable age with young boys dealing with identity, trying to be alpha males, gang culture, unemployment and classism," she said.

She also focuses on the effect of social media on teenagers  - including the role it plays in Hamlin’s decision to get what he needs by drug trafficking.

“We live in a time when everything is so visual, everything is so focused on luxury," she added. "Social media is one of the core elements that drives people to do risky things to get more money, even if it is not legitimate.”

Williams, who joined the Royal Court writer's scheme early in her acting career, has said she writes dialogue from both a writer's and performer's perspective, testing out lines as she goes.

And she praises the cast of King Hamlin: “The actors brought exactly what I had in mind to real-life,” she said.

King Hamlin runs at Park Theatre until November 12. https://parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/king-hamlin