New show tackles knife crime and child exploitation

The play centres on the story of a teenager who finds himself involved in knife crime

A performance at a seaside arts festival has shed light on youth knife crime and how young people are exploited by county drug lines.

The production called Code follows a teenage boy named Nicky who does not realise he has been caught up in knife crime until it is too late.

Justice in Motion, an award-winning theatre company, performed the play at the Out There Festival in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, on Thursday.

Anja Meinhardt, the group's artistic director, said: "We want young people to be deterred from this life of crime; it might look glamorous, it might look fun, it might look great, but the reality of it is a very different one."

She said the show was a blend of physical theatre, parkour and bike stunts, with live rap and music.

Ms Meinhardt said: "We noticed that young people really respond to those art forms.

"[The play] has a really beautiful and touching story based on true events."

There were more than 3,200 knife offences committed by children in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024, according to the Youth Justice Board's annual statistics.

This figure is 20% greater than a decade ago, but 6% fewer than the previous year and the sixth consecutive year-on-year decrease.

Anja Meinhardt said the show hopes to expose how young people can be groomed into knife crime and county lines gangs

Ms Meinhardt said she wanted the play to highlight the signs of grooming and help people understand the challenges young people have been faced with.

Since its first tour in 2023, Justice in Motion has worked with more than 6,000 young people and its work has been viewed by more than 20,000 spectators.

But Ms Meinhardt hoped the group's shows will be watched by an extra 30,000 people in the next year.

Marcus Smith, also known as Matic Mouth, is a rapper from Sheffield who is performing in the show. He said: "We need to help the children and support them rather than criminalise them and charge them with things they might not have much of information with first-hand anyway."

Lauren, a teenager who is performing in the show, said: "It's a really important show to share."

"It's opened my eyes. Throughout the show you get the story of Nicky who is this innocent kid."

Her mum Becky said the performance was really "moving and emotional".

"The child doesn't realise what they're getting involved with until it's too late.

"For younger children and parents it's about spotting the signs for grooming before the child gets sucked in too deep.

"Kids who are involved in these situations, it's not because their parents love them less or because people aren't doing a good enough job as a parent.

"It's very intentional and scary how they get sucked in."