From the word go, Fair Trade attempts to entertain and inform: unfortunately this proves to be its undoing. Firstly, however, hats off to Emma Thompson for bringing to the forefront a piece of theatre which raises the important issue of sex trafficking, and its very real presence in the UK. As a play, the clever set changes are effective, if sometimes unnecessarily overcomplicated, the lead characters’ stories are well interwoven, the supporting actors successfully juggle between several different roles, and the message is clear: sex trafficking is a booming industry, and it is all happening right under our noses.
This said, Fair Trade feels more like a lecture than a piece of theatre, and if we take it as the former, then there is a more unsettling issue at hand. Where Fair Trade lets the audience down, is in its failure to shock. The nearest it comes to making the audience uncomfortable is the account of one victim having her finger cut off for trying to run away. Instead of letting this image linger, it is undermined by the use of comic relief throughout, which feels like an injustice to those two real victims of sex trafficking on whom the play is based. Overall, while the intentions are good, the execution disappoints – faults aside, it provokes the discussion of an important issue, and for this, it should be commended.
3/5 
Grainne OHogan
(3 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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