Dream Pill

From the outset, it's obvious that Dream Pill is a well-researched play that aims to raise awareness of the sex trafficking of children from Nigeria to the UK. It's equally clear that this important issue is conveyed in a unique and engaging manner in a 30-minute play that is as likely to make you laugh as it is cry.

Written by Rebecca Prichard, this brilliant piece of drama forces the viewer to see sex trafficking through a child’s eyes. Ushered into a small dark room, the audience take their seats before Tunde and Bola, two nine-year-old Nigerian girls who have been trafficked to London, make themselves known. They address the audience directly, interspersing their account of the harrowing journey they have taken with segments of play and inquisitive questioning of audience members. Whipping out a radio, they throw themselves around to the music, doing their best Beyoncé impression, and then proceed to comment on half the room’s appearance.

Samantha Pearl and Danielle Vitalis are fantastic as Tunde and Bola, conveying childlike innocence with consummate ease. Their naïve view of the wickedness that they are being subjected to makes the play all the more heart-wrenching.

Unlike many plays that attempt to educate as well as entertain, Dream Pill does not let the issue of sex trafficking dominate. Instead, Tunde and Bola’s self-told story ensures that you won’t forget their plight or the plight of those like them for a very long time.