The Southwark Playhouse is a venue I always look forward to visiting, simply due to its consistency in the talent that is produced there. The spaces inside, both The Little and The Large, are incredibly appropriate venues for theatre, due to the variety of space that is available to use. This production of Child Z is in The Little, and what I really liked is how they have removed the normal scenery of a large platform in the centre, with boxes spaced around in the audience. While this has been effective for all other productions I have seen here, it is nice that Child Z experiments with something different, and I immediately noticed how open the space felt: it’s certainly NOT little!

Child Z tells the uncomfortable tale of Zoe (Emma Fisher) a 14-year-old girl who is being groomed and is used for sex against her will by a gang of paedophiles. Sounds haunting, right? Sarah Hehir has written the tragic tale based on a true story with poeticised echoes, which is interesting to listen to. But what actually makes the story more hard-hitting is the fact that the three characters on stage barely interact, and we see the story from more perspectives than just the victim. When disturbing stories such as this are told, it’s mostly from the victim’s point of view, and we rarely even consider the impact on anyone else who is – however loosely – involved. Throughout the production, we encounter a town councillor, Roy (Paul Trussell), as he tries to deny any issues that occur from the incidences due to his reputation being tarnished. Trussell portrays the self-obsessed businessman role incredibly well, with his facial expressions and detailed movements demonstrating his clear concentration on perfecting the role. This polished performance demonstrates his disregard for Zoe, stating many times that she probably deserved it because of the background she came from; this heightens the differences in class that are still here today, as well as highlighting the saddening difference that privilege makes. On the contrary, Claire Louise Amias’s portrayal of Sonia is very comforting. The honesty in the care she shows for Zoe adds light relief to the subject, even when the story takes a more serious turn.

As for the part of Zoe, I believe Fisher does a good job but I was sometimes a little confused by the performance and by the actual character of Zoe. They state that she is 14, yet there are irregularities such as the fact that she is reading novels like Tracy Beaker. I understand the point they are trying to make – the vulnerability of a young lady at that age, crossing from childhood into adolescence and the resulting mismatch and confusion – but some of the points of her demonstrating her maturity levels are a little off. For a character that insinuates she enjoys reading, I doubt that she would run away with both The Hunger Games novels, a book that I would still read now, and Tracy Beaker, a book that I was reading at the age of about nine. I also wanted to see more from Zoe at times: she seemed to retreat into the same state every time something bad happens, yet I really wanted to see the level of anger or disturbance increase, even subtly, each time. At times, Hehir’s language is brushed over: “take-away grin” being an example of this, when she talks about a man who has raped her. This is something that should be said with a certain level of spite, but instead it is delivered with normality. Little changes like this could enhance the character to create a really emotional performance.

As crucial as the theme of the play is, and the importance of the fact that we do not ignore it for any number of reasons (like Roy does), I really wanted to feel the uncomfortable shock of the situation; I wanted to feel my skin crawl with how disgusting these men are. There are small hints of this at times, but it needs just a bit more, in order to create a stronger audience reaction of disgust.With a few changes here and there, this production could be quite promising and could really cause a large impact of awareness to situations that have been brushed over for years. It is only recently that issues like this have been brought into the public eye after being hidden for so many years, and now is a perfect time for a production such as Child Z to project its message into the public. With a bit of tweaking here and there, it has the potential to hit audiences hard, and could demonstrate the importance of its recognition.

Child Z played at the Southwark Playhouse until 28 June. For more information, see the Southwark Playhouse website.