Free parkour theatre performance is coming to Preston

On September 18, a parkour theatre company is coming to Encounter Festival in Preston, with an exciting outdoor show which is free to attend.

Justice in Motion, a physical theater company with a focus on bringing human rights issues and social injustices to the stage, will be performing 'On Edge', a piece about modern slavery in the construction industry.

Taking place on a towering parkour 'construction site', the 45 minute long performances will be at 1 pm and 4 pm at Preston Flag Market, with bookings available online.

Artistic Director of Justice in Motion, Anja Meinhardt said: "It's quite a harrowing topic but it's brought to the stage in a very exciting and beautiful way, so it's really engaging. We’re using the movement form of parkour combined with physical theatre and dance choreography to tell the story of one man as he gets entwined in forced labour in the UK. It’s really to raise awareness about the issue, but also to inspire people to take a stand and do something about it."

Since the passing of the new Modern Slavery Act in 2015, the UK government’s National Referral Mechanism has seen annually increasing numbers of potential victims referred.

The number now stands at around 10,000, with labour exploitation being the most commonly reported of adult referrals at 25%.

As well as the performance, Justice in Motion are bringing an information "shed" with them in case people want to educate themselves more on the topic.

A group of volunteers will also be signposting people to helplines and services they can access if they find themselves exploited, or if they see anything suspicious, whilst guests will be given a leaflet with information about the issues at hand.

The show, whose cast includes parkour athletes and theatre performers, also tells the story of modern slavery without the use of words so that speakers of any language and audiences of all ages can still follow the narrative.

Anja Meinhardt, said: "I’m super exited about the performance, it’s our first proper festival this year, and I know some of the other performers who are going to be there so it’s going to be amazing, I'm just really hoping the weather holds!

“I’d love people to go away and be excited, delighted, but also feel moved, and ready to stand for justice and make a difference in their own environment."

Lancashire Encounter festival will be running from 17 September to 2 October, with the majority of events being free to the public.