She has a Name - Burnt Thicket Theatre

Haunted by anguished voices, a lawyer poses as a john to build a legal case against a brothel trafficking girls into Bangkok. Can Jason win the trust of a young prostitute known only as Number 18 and convince her to risk her life to testify for the sake of justice?

In February and March 2011, SHE HAS A NAME premiered in Calgary and Red Deer to sold-out audiences and critical acclaim. Inspired by an event in April of 2008 in which an abandoned storage container was found in Thailand containing 121 workers from Burma, 54 of them dead, Andrew Kooman’s SHE HAS A NAME gives human trafficking a dramatically personal face.

In 2012 Burnt Thicket Theatre partnered once again with Raise Their Voice to bring the story to audiences across Canada for a 5-month tour that stopped in 13 cities. We held talk-backs in every city, connecting audiences with local activists and with national leaders like MP Joy Smith and the directors of International Justice Mission and Ratanak.

Critics called SHE HAS A NAME

“a heart-wrenching hit” (Calgary Sun)

“powerful, haunting, 5 out of 5!” (Charlebois Post)

“a nervy, poignant drama that bravely tackles sex trafficking” (The Calgary Herald)

“polished, well-acted with an urgent message” (Montreal Gazette)

“5 STARS ABSOLUTE MUST SEE – you’ll never be the same!” (Ignite107FM, Winnipeg)

“without a doubt, the most worthwhile piece of theatre I’ve ever seen” (Art Threat, Vancouver)

Play Development + Production History:

Canadian Tour (2012)

Produced by Burnt Thicket Theatre, in partnership with Raise Their Voice

LETHBRIDGE, Alberta | May 23 – 27 – Sterndale Bennett Theatre
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan | May 30 – June 2 – BackStage Stage, Remai Arts Centre
OTTAWA, Ontario | June 6 – 10 – Academic Hall Theatre, University of Ottawa
MONTREAL, Quebec | June 16 – 24 – Montreal Fringe Festival
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia | July 3 – 11 – Studio Stage, Neptune Theatre
LONDON, Ontario | July 12 -13 – Aeolian Hall
WINNIPEG, Manitoba | July 18 – 29 – Winnipeg Fringe Festival
CALGARY, Alberta | August 3 – 11 – Calgary Fringe Festival – The Lantern
VICTORIA, British Columbia | August 24 – Sept. 3 – Victoria Fringe Festival
VANCOUVER, British Columbia | September 6 – 16 – Vancouver Fringe – Festival Firehall Arts Centre
KELOWNA, British Columbia | September 18 – 21 – Mary Irwin Theatre, Rotary Centre for the Arts
EDMONTON, Alberta | September 25 – 30 – Catalyst Theatre
RED DEER, Alberta | October 2 – 6 – Scott Block Theatre

2012 Canadian Tour Cast and Creative Team:

Evelyn Chew – NUMBER 18

Carl Kennedy – JASON / PIMP

Alysa Van Haastert – ALI / VOICE

Glenda Warkentin – MARTA / VOICE

Sienna Howell-Holden – MAMMA / VOICE

Stephen Waldschmidt – DIRECTOR / SCENIC DESIGNER & ARTIST

James Popoff – ARTISTIC DIRECTOR / TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Karl Sine – FIGHT DIRECTOR

Deanne Bertsch – CHOREOGRAPHER

Jaylene Wiebe – COSTUME DESIGNER

Anton De Groot – LIGHTING DESIGNER

Luke Ertman – COMPOSER / SOUND DESIGNER

Brad G. Graham – TOUR MANAGER / STAGE MANAGER

Alida Lowe – PRODUCING DIRECTOR

World Premiere (2011)

Produced by Burnt Thicket Theatre, in partnership with Raise Their Voice

CALGARY, Alberta | February 23 – March 5 – Motel Space, The Epcor Centre
RED DEER, Alberta | March 9 – 12 – The Scott Block Theatre

2011 World Premiere Cast and Creative Team:

Denise Wong – NUMBER 18

Aaron Krogman – JASON / PIMP

Cari Russell – ALI / VOICE

Glenda Warkentin – MARTA / VOICE

Sienna Howell-Holden – MAMMA / VOICE

Stephen Waldschmidt – DIRECTOR / SCENIC DESIGNER & ARTIST\

James Popoff – ARTISTIC DIRECTOR / TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Deanne Bertsch – CHOREOGRAPHER

Jaylene Wiebe – COSTUME DESIGNER

Anton De Groot – LIGHTING DESIGNER

Luke Ertman – COMPOSER / SOUND DESIGNER

Julie Serger – STAGE MANAGER

Alida Lowe – PRODUCTION MANAGER

Public Readings and Workshops

COURTENAY, British Columbia | August 29, 2012 – Reading – River Heights Church(2012 Tour)
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan| July 30, 2012 – Reading – Ebenezer Baptist Church (2012 Tour)
REGINA, Saskatchewan | July 29, 2012 – Reading – Living Hope Alliance Church (2012 Tour)
CALGARY, Alberta | February 16, 2012 – Reading – Mount Royal University Criminology Symposium (2012 Tour)
GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan | October 9, 2010 – Reading – Thornapple Church International Conference on Justice (Burnt Thicket)
RED DEER, Alberta | October 16, 2010 – Reading – CrossRoads Church
STRATHMORE, Alberta | January 9 – 10, 2010 – Workshop (Burnt Thicket)
STRATHMORE, Alberta | January 10, 2010 – Reading – Hope Community Church (Burnt Thicket)
CALGARY, Alberta | Spring of 2009 – dramaturgical input, Alberta Playwright Network (APN director Johanne Deleeuw)
RED DEER, Alberta | Scripts at Work 2009 – Scene Reading

Read about SHE HAS A NAME on Wikipedia.

Learn more about human trafficking + take action to end it:

Learn More!

Critical Acclaim for SHE HAS A NAME

“She Has a Name [is] a nervy, poignant drama that bravely tackles [the Asian sex trade]. Kennedy and Chew… both deliver strongly felt, nuanced performances. 4 stars” – Stephen Hunt, Calgary Herald

“She Has a Name, Burnt Thicket’s powerful drama about human trafficking, is currently on a cross-Canada tour and it stopping at the Fringe Festival. Last time it played in Calgary it was sold out before it actually opened, so it should prove to be one of the festival’s hottest tickets.” – Louis B. Hobson, Calgary Sun 2012

“She Has A Name [is] a heart-wrenching hit… 4 stars! A powerful drama ripped from today’s headlines. It tackles the chilling subject of human trafficking and in particular the exploitation of children who are sold into sexual slavery.” — Louis B. Hobson, The Calgary Sun 2011

“5 STARS ABSOLUTE MUST SEE! This play polished to perfection. Be a witness to She Has a Name and you’ll never be the same.” — Ignite 107FM Winnipeg

“4 Stars! She Has a Name is a play that is well performed [and] tells an important story…. The talented cast tackles the material admirably.” — CBC Winnipeg

“A powerful dramatization that brings exploitation into a harsh light you cannot ignore. Carl Kennedy enlivens his role with enthralling emotional resonance. Warkentin achieves a delicate determined grace futilely struggling against a practiced villainy that Sienna Howell-Holden makes frighteningly clear as the brothel madam, Mamma.” – Theatre in London

“She Has a Name [is] a polished, well-acted production of a play with an urgent message about human trafficking.” — @patstagepage – Pat Donnelly, Theatre Critic, Montreal Gazette

She Has a Name, by Andrew Kooman [did] not disappoint. This Calgary import about human trafficking is a road-tested show featuring some terrific actors, especially Evelyn Chew [as] prostitute Number 18 in a Bangkok brothel. It’s… very well done. Yes, worthy theatre does happen at fringes.” — Pat Donnelly, Montreal Gazette

5 out of 5! ~ “[She Has A Name] had its way with me…. A powerful, haunting theatre piece.” — Estelle Rosen, Charelbois Post, Montreal

“The acting and writing in [She Has A Name] are both astounding. I know a play is doing something right when I find myself completely absorbed, and I was right there with the characters for every moment of this ninety minute show. Evelyn Chew is particularly compelling as Number Eighteen, a character who sheds emotional armour before our eyes.” — Michelle White, Bloody Underated, Montreal

“Without a doubt, the most worthwhile piece of theatre I’ve ever seen. [Carl Kennedy and Evelyn Chew’s] delivery was so remarkable that the 90-minute play passed easily, delivering itself into the position of the single best piece of theatre, film, or art that I have seen on this difficult subject. Unlike some politically bent theatre, it doesn’t leave the audience feeling guilty – only sincerely touched, moved to learn more about the travesty of human trafficking.” – Art Threat, Vancouver

Rights + Script

The copyscript from the 2012 tour of SHE HAS A NAME is now available for purchase through the Playwrights Guild of Canada, which is currently managing amateur rights and readings of the play.