Guardian News
Rachael’s stage debut to lift lid on sex trafficking
11:30am Tuesday 7th February 2012
A KNUTSFORD actor hopes to lift the lid on the ‘hidden’ issue of sex trafficking in the UK when she makes her stage debut in London.
Rachael Dennis, of Springfields, will be watched by around 600 people when she stars in Act Like It Never Happened.
The production hopes to throw the spotlight on a potential consequence of the 2012 London Olympics.
A warning has gone out that criminals will force women across the borders and into the sex trade under the cover of tourism.
“The play is not that far removed from the real world,” said Rachael, 21.
“We want to raise awareness of what’s going on at the moment. It’s really happening. It’s a big political issue that isn’t really being addressed.”
Rachael, who moved to Knutsford after marrying her husband Richard, 25, graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in July.
She got a break in the play as she studied with the writer and director Dominic Hedges.
Rachael told the Guardian it was a dream role, as she always wanted to use her acting abilities to help change people’s perceptions.
She said: “To have this opportunity is amazing, but I’m quite nervous as well.
“You should question things and challenge yourself, and we want people to learn from the moral of the story.”
Rachael plays Catherine, whose father is an MP who loses his cabinet position due to an expenses scandal.
Meanwhile, her fiancée unwittingly pays for one of the trafficked girls in a drunken haze.
“We’re all looking forward to the Olympics, but this is going on in the background,” she said.
“It’s horrific, but the more people know about it, the more we can avoid it being swept under the carpet.”
Act Like It Never Happened is being supported by the anti-sex trafficking charity Stop The Traffik, and is being performed at The Space in East London between February 14 and 18.
