Roadkill

      “There is no counting the ways in which Cora Bissett's production shatters, disturbs and challenges us, as we sit on little chairs around the walls of the rooms that contain Mary's suffering, like a bunch of voyeurs who have paid for the thrill of witnessing it. The sheer quality and integrity of Stef Smith's script, and of three stunning performances from Mercy Ojelade, Adura Onashile, and John Kazek, force us to face our own complicity in Mary's abuse, even if it is only a complicity of silent ignorance. The documentary material on which the text is based compels a recognition that the demand for this shocking trade penetrates right to the heart of our society.”

     “The title doesn’t exactly promise a light-hearted evening’s entertainment, and, sure enough, this play by Cora Bissett and Stef Smith is harrowing. It is also, however, compassionate and serious in intent. Bissett (who also directs) and her company help you to empathise with the victims of child sex trafficking by placing you in their environment. This is immersive theatre at its most powerful: you feel shocked, distressed and trapped, but that is part of the point.”

“Bissett brings every kind of theatrical technique to bear on the nondescript Edinburgh flat where the action takes place: animation, projection, light and sound, as well as three performances of blazing, at times even frightening, conviction”

     “The space of just a few minutes, she has lost her virginity, her innocence, her passport, her past and her future. Over the next hour, we watch like ghostly voyeurs as Mary's life turns into hell on earth, and she is manipulated by Martha, the auntie she thought would protect her.

It's a familiar tale, and one that is being told elsewhere …. But in this uncompromising production, it's up close and personal. It doesn't feel as if this is just a play.”

“This is powerful stuff.”

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