Raising Awareness around Child Sexual Exploitation
Chelsea’s Story is our internationally recognised applied theatre production exploring the complex realities of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and the subtle ways in which grooming can take hold. Created to support safeguarding education in schools, the play has been seen by hundreds of thousands of young people and professionals across the UK and internationally.
This newly redeveloped 2026 version has been created in consultation with a range of safeguarding professionals and partner agencies, ensuring the stories reflect the realities young people face today.
Through a powerful blend of live performance and recorded testimony, the play follows Chelsea and Josh as they begin to unpack stories that at first seemed ordinary – stories about attention, friendship, opportunity and someone who appeared to care. As the narrative unfolds, the characters begin to question what really happened, how manipulation works, and why exploitation is often so difficult to recognise while it is happening.
Chelsea’s experience shows how grooming can develop through attention, gifts and emotional manipulation. Josh’s story explores the exploitation of boys within a sporting environment, highlighting how positions of trust and authority can be abused. Running alongside these is the story of Amara, whose relationship begins online, revealing how grooming can also develop through social media and digital spaces where flattery, validation and secrecy can slowly build dependency.
By placing these stories side by side, Chelsea’s Story reveals the different ways young people can be targeted and controlled – offline, within trusted institutions, and online – while also challenging common assumptions about who victims are and how exploitation happens.
Designed specifically for young people and professionals working with them, the production creates a safe but honest platform for conversation around one of the most sensitive safeguarding issues facing young people today.
Narrative Alchemy’s ‘Chelsea’s Story’ is an innovative and powerful production which effectively highlights the very serious and emotional issue of child sexual exploitation.
Sheila Taylor, NWG Network
The play and post show talk lasts for 55 minutes and has proven highly effective at raising awareness around:-
- Healthy and unhealthy relationships
- Safe internet use, social media risks and online grooming
- The grooming process and how perpetrators build trust and control
- Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), including the different methods perpetrators may use
- The role that positions of trust (such as within sport) can play
- Recognising the warning signs of exploitation in both offline and online contexts
- Challenging victim-blaming and common misconceptions about exploitation
- Where young people can go for help, support and advice
Suitable for:-
- Schools : KS3, KS4 and FE
- Training and conference events: police and professionals who work with young people
Project Information
Running Time 60 minutes
Get In 45 mins
Get Out 30 mins
Cast Size 2
Performance Space 4m x 4m
Staging Ground Level – End On
Available 2026
- £695+vat per show (AM or PM slots available)
- Or you can book the whole day for £1,295+vat and have up to 3 x performances in the day
The show was fantastic, the students all responded really well and the staff thought it was incredibly valuable.
Rebecca Hodgson, The Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat School, Tupsley
Narrative Alchemy Theatre Co.
Theatre productions to raise awareness, get young people talking and tackle knife crime, grooming, misogyny, drugs and mental health.
Booking
To book or for further assistance, please call 0161 236 1448 to talk to our friendly team. Alternatively, fill in the enquiry form below and we’ll get back to you with availability in your area…
Theatre for Schools 