Help us take our newly written musical to the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2018!
We are two 20 year-old music students who are passionate about fighting for justice, particularly addressing the issues related to human trafficking. In 2017, we started the Stop The Traffik group in Glasgow, as part of the Stop The Traffik global organisation, in hopes of helping people in Scotland who have experienced human trafficking and to educate others about the dangers revolving around this issue.
Coming from an Eastern European and Central Asian background, human trafficking is a real problem that affects the lives of many young people back home. Adding our artistic background into the mixture and a burning desire to make a change in the world, we realised that there is no better way to reach large audiences, than by art. Now in our second year of working with Stop The Traffik, we are pioneering a new musical work, in which we tackle the issue of human trafficking, with focus on the sex slave industry and the real problems it causes to many young people's lives.
'A Fair Tale about a Fairy Trade' is a controversial new musical focusing on taboo issues of sex slavery, exploitation and abuse. A dark twist on a family favourite, the tale of Cinderella, this new musical transcends cultural and stereotypical boundaries, creating a real sense of the important issues and just how easily they can affect any of us.
The plot of the musical was carefully crafted after researching real-life stories of trafficked victims. Set in the modern day, the musical follows our protagonist, Cece, who is a 17-year old girl living with her step-mother and her two step-sisters, who make her life miserable. Being an orphan, the only emotional support that she gets is from her God-mother. After attending a party one night, she gets kidnapped on her way home and ends up in a brothel, where she is trafficked for sex. The plot focuses on her emotional journey throughout this unexpected misfortune. In the outside world, Cece's family and friends are looking for her, together with the police, but no clue leads anywhere. The real mystery of the musical, however, lays in who the villain behind this horrifying business is. Throughout the show, the audience will hear and be aware that the pimp is there, but they cannot see who it is, bringing on more mystery and speculations.
The aim of this musical is to deliver a better understanding to the audiences about what human trafficking means and to raise awareness about different factors related to it. The use of such a popular theatre genre that tells such an unpopular and depressing story may seem like a paradox, but it was carefully crafted for the audience members to feel a mixture of relevance and shock. The uncomfortable contrast between the expectation of the Cinderella story and our portrayal of it is what challenges the audience's preconceptions.
'A Fair Tale about a Fairy Trade' will be premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe between the 13th and 25th of August 2018. It will be the first musical that addresses the issue of human trafficking in the Edinburgh Fringe, turning it into an even more exciting work, a pioneer of its genre. In order to be able to take part in this amazing festival, we need to raise £10k, in order to cover the costs of venue, transport, participation fees, media resources and production resources. By supporting this project, you're not only helping us as a production, but you also help raise awareness about the horrors of human trafficking and you become an advocate for change. Join us in our fight against human trafficking and help us spread awareness about the dangers it imposes to our generation!
And don't forget...
EVERY LITTLE HELPS!