It is a mystery inside of a concert inside of a play that blows the lid off the explosive issue of sex trafficking.
"LOVE BOMB," is presented by shameless hussy productions, who refer to themselves as "a company of rebellious self-producing theatre artists." They tell "provocative stories about women, to inspire the hand that rocks the cradle to rock the world."
The 12-show tour begins today Sept. 12 at the North Delta Centre for the Arts in Delta, BC at 7:30 pm. To get tickets, contact Lisa Doepker at |ldoepker@delta.ca.
Love bombing, often understood in the context of dating, also has darker connotations. It is the "attempt to influence a person by lavish demonstrations of attention and affection; an expression used to describe the tactics used by pimps and gang members to control their victims.
First premiering in 2015 at Vancouver's historic Firehall Arts Centre, it takes an intimate look into sex trafficking in British Columbia, and Canada as whole.
Sex trafficking is the most common form of human trafficking, a human rights violation. It involves recruiting, transporting, or harbouring a person so that they can be exploited for sex work.
Between 2012-2022, there were 3,996 police-reported incidents of human trafficking, with incidents increasing almost every year except 2018 and 2022, according to the federal government website.
"Although the characters in the play are fictitious, many many of the facts in this play are based on a real case, Reza Moazami vs. Crown in 2014," said Rene茅 Iaci, play director and co-founder of shameless hussy productions. "It was the first time that anyone was convicted for sex trafficking in B.C."
The production is an original musical created by Meghan Gardiner, who wrote the book and lyrics. It was nominated for multiple 2015 Ovation Awards, including Outstanding New Work, Outstanding Lead Performance, and Outstanding Small Cast Production, winning the latter two.
It stars Sara Holt and Melissa Kahan, who respectively play the characters Lillian Davies and Justine Chambers.
The musical features 10 original songs made by Steve Charles, who contributed to the lyrics as well.
"Our play has been used by the RCMP to help with training as the story is that realistic and unfolds like a true crime mystery," said Iaci.
She shared that they have performed it at the RCMP headquarters in Ottawa, as well as their training camp in Saskatchewan.
In 2019, the federal government launched the "National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking," a five-year program that invested more than $70 million to address the rise in incidents. The funding is for supporting victims, survivors, and organizations combatting trafficking, increasing public awareness, and training front-line community workers, officials, and law enforcement.
According to the government of B.C website, if you suspect someone is being trafficked, please call 911 or your local police detachment. You can also contact Crime Stoppers to report anonymously.
If you prefer not to engage with police, you can contact Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-900-1010. They are a confidential, 24/7 multilingual service.
You can also connect with VictimLink BC, a multilingual 24/7 service that provides information and referrals to all victims of crime.
The rest of the LOVE BOMB tour dates include:
Sept. 13 at Burnsview Secondary in Delta, B.C.
Sept. 16 at The Longhouse in Williams Lake, B.C.
Sept. 18 at Roundhouse Community Theatre in McBride, B.C.
Sept. 19 at Valemount Community Theatre in Valemount, B.C.
Sept. 23 at North Peace Secondary School in Fort St. John, B.C.
Sept. 23 at North Peace Cultural Centre in Fort St. John, B.C.
Sept. 26 at R.E.M. Lee Theatre in Terrace, B.C.
Oct. 4 at Killarney Secondary School in Vancouver, B.C.
Oct 8. at Sid Williams Theatre in Courtenay, B.C.
Oct. 10 at Cowichan Performing Arts Centre in Duncan, B.C.