Scottish Catholic Observer

On Monday October 28, Rah Rah Theatre Company visited St Maurice’s High School in Cumbernauld, and showcased their play My Mind is Free to senior pupils.

The play tells the stories of four individuals who have fallen victim to exploitation and trafficking.

Staff and pupils were left shocked by the production which stars just four actors, each portraying a character from a different country and telling the story of how they became victims of contemporary slavery.

Trauma

The performance is set in the back of a cramped van as each character shares their story.

Mrs Nicola Harvie, principal teacher of RE at St Maurice’s, said the play was ‘extremely powerful and thought provoking.’

My Mind is Free features the stories of four very different people: an impoverished Brazilian woman who is tricked into becoming a slave cleaner in the UK; a teenage boy from Vietnam forced to cultivate cannabis; a 16-year-old Romanian girl tricked into prostitution by her abusive boyfriend and a homeless British veteran suffering from alcoholism and PTSD who is hoodwinked into slave labour.

Mrs Harvie explained that the play followed up on topics they had looked at in class.

Real-life issues

She said: “Although the pupils have been looking at issues of human trafficking and slavery, seeing this performance really brought it to life for our young people.

“As a Catholic school we strive to promote teaching that proclaims the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of all. This play was a wonderful opportunity to emphasise this teaching.”

As part of its Scottish tour, the play was also set to be performed at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday October 29.

Connection

Jude Spooner, managing director of Rah Rah Theatre, said: “I hope the play will help the pupils emotionally connect with the subject as I think we can read a lot about slavery and don’t necessarily connect with it.

“I’m hoping that by actually sharing these stories we can make a difference. A lot of people think that they have been naïve or stupid, but when you see their backstories you see how vulnerable people are and how they can get trapped in these situations.”

Rah Rah Theatre was touring Essex when the lorry in which 39 people died was found in the same area last week.

The performance of the play at St Maurice’s was facilitated by Justice and Peace Scotland (J&PS) who have been helping the company link to Catholic schools north of the border.

Lasting effect

Speaking to the pupils, J&PS coordinator Danny Sweeney said: “Don’t let this play be something you saw at school one day and then forget about it—do something with this. Let this be something that inspires you [to make a change.]”

St Maurice’s has been campaigning against modern slavery in school, with one pupil writing to Hugh Gaffney MP calling for more action against the crime and others creating awareness posters to display around the school.

Powerful production

Pupils Lewis Duffy, David Kirson and Raj Sandhu were all left awestruck by the performance. Lewis said: “It’s scary to think this could be happening somewhere in your street and you’d never know.”

David commented: “Seeing the effect it can have on people was very powerful and informative and highlighted the extent of the problem.”

Raj added: “I thought it really raised awareness on the different issues surrounding human trafficking and it really touched on the ways that people can get into that sort of situation.