Chelsea's Choice

For the second year, The Alter Ego Theatre Group were invited to Coln House on 27th November to act out 'Chelsea's Choice'.

This is a play aimed at raising awareness around the very sensitive issues of child sexual exploitation. A lot of thought has gone into the play so it is age appropriate.

Chelsea's Choice tells the true story of a group of three students who discover the diary of a girl called Chelsea. Chelsea was a young girl, who, having fallen out with her friends and family, was approached by a man called Gary. Gary was older, owned a car, had a flat and treated her like an adult. Unfortunately Gary was not what he seemed to be! Chelsea's story is played out by the three students along with their teacher in an attempt to understand what happened to Chelsea and how it could have been prevented.

This drama was a huge success, the actors were excellent and their characters believable. The key messages about grooming and abusive relationships were explored well and the young people were given an opportunity to discuss Chelsea's choices in more detail after the performance which again was a really good way to interact with the audience.

Whilst the topic can be hard to discuss the drama enabled us to empower the audience by giving them clear messages and deeper understanding about the issues and where they can get help etc.

This was further followed up and discussed when pupils and care staff went to their house areas to discuss the play during support groups.