Shatterbox theatre company hold information evening

(London, UK – April, 2010) Theatre company Shatterbox, who will tour Fair Trade – a production using verbatim accounts from two women who were trafficked into Britain to work in the sex slave trade - held an information night at The Pleasance Theatre, Islington, to help raise the profile of their campaign. The hugely successful evening saw the cast of Fair Trade perform short extracts from the play, whilst artistic producer Anna Holbek gave those present an overview of the companies aims over the coming months and the media coverage already received with a view to garnering financial support. An original piece of writing based on the actual accounts of two female survivors of the sex slave trade, Fair Trade is a play that uncovers the reality of sex trafficking. It has been described by Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson as “one of the best scripts I’ve seen in years” and, in her role as Executive Producer to the company, she goes on to say, “I am extremely proud to be involved. I believe we need as much art as we can get to help people understand what’s going on out there.” Fair Trade was originally performed at The Pleasance Theatre, Islington in February 2009 and attracted publicity from BBC News, The Stage, The Guardian and The Independent, as well as receiving entirely positive reviews. The performances also provoked passionate audience discussions and it was recognised that very few people are aware that the UK is one of the biggest hot-houses for this international trade. “We were grateful to have the opportunity to help raise the profile of human trafficking and articulate what we’re trying to do with Fair Trade, and we are looking forward to making an impact with the production over the coming months,” Shatterbox Artistic Producer, Anna Holbek, said. The play will appear at both the Latitude Festival and at London’s Rich Mix in July before showing throughout August at Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s Pleasance King Dome. Finally they will go on to perform at various venues throughout the UK during an autumn tour from September. The company is inviting interest from potential sponsors and investors to help realise their ambition to continue to raise awareness about human trafficking in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics in London, with fears that the increased volume of people travelling to the UK will see a greater number of human trafficking to fuel the sex slave trade. Shatterbox Theatre Company Shatterbox is a young and rapidly expanding theatre company dedicated to new writing, with a particular emphasis on awareness-raising, issue based work. Their aim with Fair Trade is to help bring the reality of the sex trade industry to the forefront of the social and political agenda. As well as an exciting and thought-provoking piece of theatre encompassing live music, drama, physical theatre and comedy, Fair Trade tells an as yet un-told story, revealing a magnitude of shockingly hidden truths. Academy Award winning actress Emma Thompson is Executive Producer of Shatterbox. www.shatterbox.co.uk Press enquiries should be sent to Will Wood of Multitude Media - +44 (0)161 408 8221 / will.wood@multitudemedia.co.uk.

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