THE TUSKAGEE Study went down in history as one of the most controversial biomedical studies in American history, and it is this episode which forms the backbone for Paul Sirett’s latest play at the Theatre Royal Stratford East (TRSE), Bad Blood Blues.

The 50-year-old playwright explains: “During the 1930s, scientists looking for a cure for syphilis decided to do research using a group of largely illiterate poor black farmers with the disease in Tuskagee, Alabama.

“They tested all kinds of toxic things and didn’t find anything. When a cure was found in the ‘40s, it wasn’t passed onto these men, but they continued to study them for a further 30 years."

He adds: “What happened in Tuskagee unleashed a storm and it is an open wound as far as people are concerned. I wanted to explore the simple notion that drugs are usually tested on the poorest people who need them most but who never receive them.”

Rather than being set in ‘30s Alabama, Bad Blood Blues transports the audience to ‘90s Africa and takes them on a frank and ethically challenging journey into the world of HIV/AIDS drug trials.

“I want people to be entertained and come away thinking about what they have seen,” Paul says. “It’s not supposed to preach to people, it’s supposed to stimulate discussion.”

Directed by Ryan Romain and starring Casualty actress Martina Laird and Nathaniel Martello-White, Bad Blood Blues is the seventh production Paul has penned for the TRSE. Previously a resident of near-by Hackney, past work for the TRSE includes the musical The Big Life, about hopeful immigrants arriving in the UK in the ‘50s, while elsewhere he is currently working on another African-based play commissioned by the National Theatre.

Speaking about his interest in multi-ethnic communities, Paul, who now lives in Kentish Town, says: “I write about the world I live in.

“When I started out as a musician, I played in reggae and ska bands and it’s always been a world I know. I wouldn’t set out to write about something I don’t know, and these have always been the circles I have been involved with.”

While life as a musician gave way to becoming a playwright, music is still very important to Paul, and, as the title would suggest, it plays a significant role in Bad Blood Blues.

“The blues music is a metaphor for what happen in Tuskagee. It’s the music from that time in the ‘30s and from that part of America, in the Deep South. It’s there as a shadow of what happened, and when the actors talk about Tuskagee in the play I hope the audience will make that connection. I didn’t want to just come out with a history lesson. I wanted to make the comparison in a different way.”

Bad Blood Blues runs until Saturday, May 9, 7.30pm.Tickets: 020 8534 0310 or www.stratfordeast.com (£10/£6 concs.)