It is Christmas Eve and ‘Rose,’ a woman in a red dress, awakes to find that she has no memory of who or where she is. As she gradually weaves the threads of memory together, a dark and violent picture begins to emerge. Compelled to leave for fear of her life Rose begins to pack… but it’s dark outside and the house is full of strange noises. Will she escape, before her attacker returns? Or is he still in the House?
A packed house in the Harlequin Theatre in Redhill on 29 April 2014 watched Certain Curtain Theatre Company’s production of LADY IN RED. It combined superb dialogue, a compelling plot, inspired performance and evocative colours to create an unforgettable experience – a journey through one woman’s attempts to leave an abusive relationship.
Graham Cook, Deputy Chief executive of Reigate and Banstead Borough Council who organised the event, introduced the performance. He thanked Councillor Rita Renton, a member of SI Reigate and District, for her initiative in bringing the Lady In Red to the attention of the Community Safety Partnership, and for the support of SI Reigate and District and East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services (ESDAS), Surrey County Council for providing the funding and the team at the Harlequin.
This contemporary look at domestic violence left the audience stunned and the follow up discussion with the writers and actors, a representative of ESDAS and Inspector Richard Haycock explored the issues in a national and local context.
Information was given about the nature and scale of domestic abuse, the support offered by ESDAS, the rapidly improving rate of detection of domestic abuse by the police in Surrey and how anyone involved in an abusive relationship or their friends and family can get help from ESDAS and the police.
