This was a very harrowing short piece, brilliantly done. Deservedly, this one got a transfer to Trafalgar Studios, so there is a good stub to be found with the production details, some interviews etc. We saw the original version at the Hampstead Downstairs, but it looks as though it was a straight transfer, same cast, same production team.
The play is basically about a young girl in Rochdale who is befriended and groomed by an older, Asian man with debts and bad friends. The Children’s Society collaborated on the work, by all accounts.
We saw it on a Friday evening after a poor early evening meal at Harry Morgans. We were talking about it all weekend; it raised such startling issues and was so well acted.
Ed Hall himself directed this one – unusually for a downstairs production – top quality stuff.
Here is the trailer:
There were also reviews post transfer:
- Holly Williams in the Independent raved about it;
- Claire Allfree in The Telegraph also loved it;
- Henry Hitchins in The Standard was less sure;
Many more reviews can be found if you google for them using Trafalgar rather than Hampstead.