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When Dennis Potter wrote "Blue Remembered Hills", he had no intention of making it into any kind of bedtime story or fairy tale. The portrayal of savage cruelty in the plot has nothing to do with lulling sleep-eyed children to sleep while murmuring sweet, simple words.

A mood of the brutal aggression of childhood is what Potter aimed for in "Blue Remembered Hills", and he was extensively successful in passing this image on to the audience.

Shortly after he died at age 59 in 1994, Potter's "Blue Remembered Hills" was adapted from the original 1979 BBC television production for London's National Theatre stage. The Julia Morgan Theatre in Berkeley, through the strong personalities of director Clive Chafer and his cast, has effectively brought "Blue" to life.

It's 1943 in England's West Country, and a group of 8-year-old children have fled with their families from the war-ravaged London to the forested, peaceful countryside. As Potter tells it, wherever children are, there is power, and wherever there is power, there is a cruel misuse-abuse of power. He wrote "Blue" specifically for adults to play the parts of the children; perhaps a ridiculous notion, until you witness a strong cast in the strong roles of the strong story.

There are many examples of the unthinking savagery of the children in "Blue", but the most vivid and impacting of these involves a withdrawn outcast, Donald (Dominic Riley), better known as "Donald Duck" by the children that taunt him. While playing house with Angela (Susan Papa) and Audrey (Lizzie Robinson Calogero), the simple game quickly erupts into a session of vicious torment. As a group of boys troop towards the barn where the threesome are playing, having just chased and stomped a squirrel to death, Angela and Audrey manage to toss a lit match to the barn floor. Giggling, they rush to lock Donald inside, and ignore his desperate pleas from within the burning building.

Chafer's cast in "Blue" are so professional and natural in their roles that they have the audience breathing shallowly in order to catch every little bit of dialogue. For a moment, one is transported to the "Hills" and a place where the childhood memories aren't so golden.

"Blue Remembered Hills" is playing at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, also 2 p.m. Sundays through January 31; admission is $14-$19 with student and senior discounts.