Domestic abuse play makes Edinburgh Fringe debut

Actors Oscar Burton and Phoebe Smith star in the play Red Flags Interactive

A domestic abuse survivor who created a play based on her experiences is taking the show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Lise Kaye-Bell, who runs Bradford theatre company Soundproof Box, wrote the production called Red Flags Interactive to educate teenagers about abusive relationships.

“I’ve got a teenage daughter and I thought, I don’t want her to go into these types of relationships," said Ms Kaye-Bell, 48, from Leeds.

The show had been seen by more than 7,000 young people in West Yorkshire and endorsed by Spice Girl Mel B, along with local police forces, schools and colleges, she said.

Ms Kaye-Bell described the production as a "personal experience", saying she had experienced violence and coercive behaviour in her past.

“I had a chat with [my daughter] and said: ‘How would you feel if I went into school and did talks about this?’"

"Her answer was: 'God, no mum, no one wants to see an old lady with a PowerPoint - do something interesting.’”

The play began as an education for the “TikTok generation”, she said, but it had now developed into an interactive show for all.

• Information and Support: Domestic Abuse

Ms Kaye-Bell said the company had received feedback from special educational needs teachers that it was particularly popular among people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder because of the interactive elements.

“The audience are very much part of the action,” she said.

“They are all given a red flag they can wave when they see something they don’t like.”

Lise Kaye-Bell runs Bradford theatre company Soundproof Box

She added that many domestic abuse survivors felt they were “screaming inside a soundproof box” - the origin of her company’s name - with her interactive show "giving everyone a voice”.

Red Flags Interactive will be performed three times at Nicolson Square Edinburgh on Friday.

Ms Kaye-Bell invited domestic abuse charities to attend the shows and will signpost audience members to places they can get support if needed.

The company plans to take the show on a national tour, along with continuing performances around West Yorkshire.

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