Trafford young people take to the stage in a powerful play exploring coercive control
He Loves me, He Loves Me Not follows Lexi, a fifteen-year-old girl from a troubled family. When she meets a charming man called Donnell, he seems to offer Lexi an escape from her problems. But soon Donnell starts taking control of Lexi’s life, threatening her and cutting her off from her friends. And then Donnell starts pulling Lexi and those around her into county lines drug trafficking…
The play, written by Anthea Cribbin and directed by Lee Grant, was developed though conversations with young women and girls who access Gorse Hill Studios, which supports young people to build self-esteem, learning and aspirations.
Anthea Cribbin, creative educator at Gorse Hill, was working with young women and girls who were in toxic relationships but who were reluctant to access professional services for support. She started using story telling as a way of exploring issues around coercive control and domestic abuse with her students. Weaving her own experiences into the plot, Anthea then developed the script for the drama about Lexi and her friends. She hopes that the play will open up conversations in the community and among professionals working with young people about how best to tackle the issues explored in the play.
The play comes with an age recommendation of 13+ and contains themes of intergenerational trauma, some scenes of violence or threats of violence, domestic abuse and coercive control, strong language throughout, reference to sexual assault and themes of child criminal exploitation, parenting through addiction and being stigmatised because of this.
Book now for He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not at The Lowry
