3 May 2005
‘P’ Play at Waitakere
The anti-‘P’ play will be performed to a community audience at Waitakere College at 7pm on 19 May. 10 Foot Tall & Bullet Proof (performed by young, professional, Tai Tokerau actors) reinforces community resilience and the
individual’s ability to make informed decisions and steer clear of drug abuse and addiction.
Waitakere City’s Advocates for Children and Youth Linda Cooper and Ewen Gilmour say the battle against drugs needs
every bit of help available.
“These are fictional characters and fictional events – but the reality is that this plot is being played out every day
in our own city. This is an opportunity for high school students, their support networks and anyone in the community
concerned about P, to listen and learn about the drug problem.,” says Councillor Cooper.
“From a mother’s perspective, the curse of P is killing them as well,” she says. Councillor Gilmour, who opened the
CAYAD conference on Youth and Drugs last month says ‘P’ is “available at every high school in the city. It’s a really
scary thing… I don’t have a lot of time to help addicts, but I do have time to help the youth,” he says.
The play follows the testimony and confession of a young woman and follows her downfall from a very normal, loved and
popular high school student, through innocent moments of being an unwitting pleasure seeker, to finally, becoming a
burnt out slave to P.
The play presents multiple endings designed to stimulate audience discussion.
Safe Waitakere’s CAYAD (Community Action on Youth and Drugs) is a sponsor of the P abuse prevention play and the
accompanying programme aimed at 15-18 year olds. It will also play at high schools in Waitakere. This project is in line
with National Drug Policy aims following an “education not propaganda” approach.
ENDS