ALL THE LITTLE LIGHTS Comes to the Tristan Bates Theatre

All The Little Lights, Jane Upton's award-winning play, appears for 6 performances only at the Tristan Bates Theatre as part of the Camden Fringe 2019.

All The Little Lights is a dark, comic and urgent portrayal of child sexual exploitation told from the survivor's perspective. The production offers an exploration of the mechanisms of abuse and the societal failure to prevent it, as well as a celebration of female friendship, youth and strength.

Lisa arrives at her 15th birthday party next to the railway tracks on the outskirts of a city, where Joanne and a new mate Amy wait for her. Only Lisa doesn't want to be there, and it seems like Joanne has other plans. Unbeknown to Amy, Lisa and Joanne have a complicated past, and this birthday could either be their chance for reconciliation, or a dangerous trap that will take Lisa right back to the place she had escaped.

Told with original music, video projection and movement; All the Little Lights opens a door into the minds of three young women navigating relationships with abusive men.

The production stars Lucy Mabbitt, a performer from the East Midlands where the play premiered, Erin Mullen and Emily Durie.

All the Little Lights is directed by Hannah Calascione, Resident Trainee Director at HOME, Manchester and features original composition by Eric Fabrizi.

The company of theatre artists from across the UK met at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2017 and are alumni of the 2018 Barbican coLABorate programme.

Written by Nottingham based, award-winning writer Jane Upton, All the Little Lights was inspired by a news story following the Rochdale sex ring which focused on an older victim who had been groomed at a young age and then later became a groomer of other girls.

"The article was derogatory and cruel in dealing with the young woman who was indeed a victim herself", reports Jane:

"I was interested in the blurred lines, the characters behind the story, the way this girl had fallen through the cracks. I felt compelled to tell a story like hers."

While there is greater awareness around the issue, particularly since the 2017 BBC drama THREE GIRLS and the 2020 Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse underway, the play remains hugely relevant.

"The more research we've done the more this has become clear, focussing us in rehearsals and informing our creative choices", explains Director, Hannah:

"There is still a real need to understand better what abuse is, how prevalent it is, and particularly that it can happen to anyone"

All The Little Lights was Winner of the George Devine Award 2016 and nominated for Best Play at Writer's Guild of Great Britain 2017.

This production is made in partnership with Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is supported by Child Sexual Exploitation charity Safe and Sound.

PLEASE NOTE: All the Little Lights contains includes themes of child sexual exploitation and assault which some may find distressing. Suitable for ages 14+.

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