Written by Ella Dorman-Gajic

Jana is on the cusp of adulthood; she’s started dating her first boyfriend and is getting ready to leave her war-torn hometown, to provide for her family. However, when she wakes up in a basement in Sarajevo, it is clear that life doesn’t always follow the plans we make for it. 

“Written with passion and filled with moments of humour and tenderness” (Play’s the Thing), this powerful production was awarded a 2022 OffComm. Trade fuses projection, design and immersive soundscapes, plunging us into a “murky and perilous world” (Queer Review), spanning former Yugoslavia to the UK. 

Artistically integrated captions make this play accessible for both d/Deaf audiences and native Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS) speakers. 

Written by Ella Dorman-Gajic and directed by Maddy Corner, Trade is an “unflinching, unapologetic” play exploring the currency of female bodies in an underground world, told through the eyes of a morally complex female protagonist, revealing her in “a more realistic light, making her relevant and sympathetic” (North West End). 

Presented by ŽENA Productions and supported by Arts Council England, this show is part of a UK tour, running 20 March to 13 April.

It had a sell-out run at VAULT Transfer Season in 2022. 

At the end of the production, there will be a donation point for the anti-trafficking charity, Unseen. 

Playtexts will be sold at the end of the production, with 10% of the proceeds going to Unseen.

★★★★ – ‘Complex, challenging, and more than a little surprising.
Trade plunges the audience in the murky and perilous world of European sex trafficking.’

THE QUEER REVIEW

★★★★ – ‘A thought-provoking and purpose-driven play portraying the traditionally victimised protagonist in a more realistic light, making her relevant and sympathetic.’

NORTH WEST END

★★★★ – ‘Engrossing, important, hard-hitting and impactful… Certainly one to watch.’

THEATRE AND OTHER THINGS

FREE WORKSHOP: Creating Dramatic Worlds. 1pm – 3pm

During this playwriting and theatre-making workshop, you will explore a new dramatic world you have never seen on stage before.

In the first half of this session, you will be guided through a series of creative prompts to write a short duologue from scratch. In the second half of the workshop, we will work together to explore, discuss and present how we could stage these scripts and/or concepts theatrically. These can be presented visually on paper, or you can use your performance skills to act out the scripts you have written.

The workshop is welcome to those of all stages and sharing is not compulsory – only those who feel comfortable sharing work with others will be invited to present.

Anyone who has a ticket to see Trade at Exeter Phoenix on 6th April can attend the workshop for FREE. Please contact the box office to book your space.

This workshop is led by the writer of Trade, Ella Dorman-Gajic. Trade is an unflinching contemporary play that takes us inside the European sex-trafficking industry, told through the eyes of a young woman as she attempts to find a place in a world she never asked to be a part of. With artistically integrated English and Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian captions, this show was hailed as ‘complex, challenging, and more than a little surprising’ and was awarded a 2022 OffComm.

Content Warning & Accessibility

Scenes of sex and violence, themes of sex trafficking, strong language, use of fake blood, loud noises, some flashing light (not strobe)

Accessible for d/Deaf audiences and Serbo-Croat speakers (Integrated captions)

TICKET OFFERS

Save £2 on each ticket when you book any 3 theatre/dance shows at once

Explore more of our theatre and performance programme, and enjoy money off your tickets! Save £2 on each ticket when you book for three or more shows from our performance programme at the same time. Book any three theatre or dance shows and your discount will be automatically applied at checkout. Not valid on £5 Student/Under 25 tickets.  

£5 Tickets for Students/Under 25s

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR/WRITER

Ella Dorman-Gajic (Writer) is a playwright, poet and performer of Serbian and Austrian heritage. Her writing has been described as “impassioned” by The Guardian. She is a member of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective, alumna of Apples & Snakes Writing Room, New Writing South’s Young Writers and was Broken Silence Theatre’s first Writer in Residence. Her work has been staged at The Arcola, Camden People’s Theatre, The Old Red Lion and Edinburgh Fringe. This is her debut full-length play. www.elladorman-gajic.co.uk/

‘Impassioned’ – The Guardian on playwright Ella Dorman-Gajic

Maddy Corner (Director) is a director and theatre-maker from South London. Her work is inherently political, with a strong emphasis on female experience and telling underrepresented stories. Her work is dynamic and layered, often using projections and film in her productions. Maddy trained as a director at Drama Centre London. Credits include: Sima (Director, Platform Studio Theatre) Do You See Me? (AD TO Kane Husbands), This Restless House (AD TO Owen Horsely), SHE. (Director, theSpace Edinburgh), Mother [singular] (Director, Platform Southwark)
www.maddycorner.co.uk/

VENUE: AUDITORIUM, EXETER PHOENIX

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>