SOLD BY JOHN GODBER
SOUTHEND DRAMA SOCIETY
Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
3rd - 6th May 2017
SOUTHEND DRAMA SOCIETY
Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
3rd - 6th May 2017
Going to see a play about the sex trafficking trade was hardly going to make for fun night out and John Godber’s gritty tale is certainly not for the faint hearted. It introduces us to Ray, a journalist from Hull, who, needing to find a good story and encouraged by his colleague, Jack (Rick Fiore), comes down to London to investigate “the new slave trade”: people trafficking.
Anja is a Moldovan prostitute working out of a brothel in Paddington whom Ray pays to tell the story of how she came to be working in London. Filled with compassion for the girl, who is the same age as his step-daughter, Ray soon finds himself attracted to Anja, and he comes up with a plan to rescue her from the brothel and bring her back to Hull with him.
The staging for this play is simple with white door frames leading to separate spaces where the action takes place - a brothel, a pub attic and the houses of Ray and Jack. Everything else is suitably black, allowing the audience to focus on the characters telling the story. Is it a story though? Is the story of Anya true? It could be. The sex trafficking statistics are shockingly high in this country alone and there are thousands of girls, any one of which could re-tell the same sorry tale portrayed here.
Southend Drama Society has certainly taken a risk with putting on this play - it’s not going to be a lot of people’s ‘cup of tea’ - however, what director, Peter Nawrat, hasn’t done, is take a risk with the actors he has cast. Each one of them gives a committed and believable performance in this wordy play which could very easily have audiences fidgeting if not treated right. Each scene change is made swiftly and the flow of the play is continuously kept at a good pace therefore maintaining the audience’s attention.
Bill Peel as Ray didn’t falter once and gives an outstanding performance as the journalist who just wants to make the world a better place and feels that he is doing the right thing by bringing Anja back to Hull with him. He is equally matched by Sophie Docherty as Anja, who gave a confident portrayal of the young girl sold by her own family to be repeatedly raped and humiliated into submission by hundreds of men.
Kay Banning as London brothel owner, Kate, is suitably repulsive, as is Simon Lawler who plays the creepy and lecherous pub landlord, Les. These two more particularly so in the closing moments of the play which, despite a few members of the audience finding themselves giggling awkwardly at the scene being played out before them, left the rest of us rendered almost dumbstruck.
Southend Drama Society has certainly raised the bar with this well staged and wonderfully performed production. It also serves as a stark reminder that sex trafficking remains a hugely critical issue in 21st century Britain. This play needs to be seen.
There are still two more chances to catch this riveting production. Go online to www.southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135
Anja is a Moldovan prostitute working out of a brothel in Paddington whom Ray pays to tell the story of how she came to be working in London. Filled with compassion for the girl, who is the same age as his step-daughter, Ray soon finds himself attracted to Anja, and he comes up with a plan to rescue her from the brothel and bring her back to Hull with him.
The staging for this play is simple with white door frames leading to separate spaces where the action takes place - a brothel, a pub attic and the houses of Ray and Jack. Everything else is suitably black, allowing the audience to focus on the characters telling the story. Is it a story though? Is the story of Anya true? It could be. The sex trafficking statistics are shockingly high in this country alone and there are thousands of girls, any one of which could re-tell the same sorry tale portrayed here.
Southend Drama Society has certainly taken a risk with putting on this play - it’s not going to be a lot of people’s ‘cup of tea’ - however, what director, Peter Nawrat, hasn’t done, is take a risk with the actors he has cast. Each one of them gives a committed and believable performance in this wordy play which could very easily have audiences fidgeting if not treated right. Each scene change is made swiftly and the flow of the play is continuously kept at a good pace therefore maintaining the audience’s attention.
Bill Peel as Ray didn’t falter once and gives an outstanding performance as the journalist who just wants to make the world a better place and feels that he is doing the right thing by bringing Anja back to Hull with him. He is equally matched by Sophie Docherty as Anja, who gave a confident portrayal of the young girl sold by her own family to be repeatedly raped and humiliated into submission by hundreds of men.
Kay Banning as London brothel owner, Kate, is suitably repulsive, as is Simon Lawler who plays the creepy and lecherous pub landlord, Les. These two more particularly so in the closing moments of the play which, despite a few members of the audience finding themselves giggling awkwardly at the scene being played out before them, left the rest of us rendered almost dumbstruck.
Southend Drama Society has certainly raised the bar with this well staged and wonderfully performed production. It also serves as a stark reminder that sex trafficking remains a hugely critical issue in 21st century Britain. This play needs to be seen.
There are still two more chances to catch this riveting production. Go online to www.southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135
Review: Kim Tobin
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Ask the Audience
Rory, 25, Stanford le Hope “I didn’t know this play before and it’s the first time I’ve seen a play about a prostitute. It made me feel very sad. The actors who played Ray and Anja were really good. I though the set was good and it was well directed. I would recommend people come and see it.” |