Rites is a powerful and provocative new play exploring the deep-rooted cultural practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This ritual of enforced cutting has been performed for centuries and millions of girls worldwide, often as young as five years old, are still subjected to it. The reasons are complicated and myriad. It depends who you are what you’ve been taught. Some things are simple though: FGM is still happening across the world. FGM is happening in the UK, here and now.
Rites is based on interviews and true stories from girls affected in Scotland and the rest of the UK, mothers who feel under pressure to continue the practice, and the experiences of midwives, lawyers, police officers, teachers and health workers trying to effect change in communities. Weaving together different perspectives into a multi-voiced production, the play explores the complexities, misconceptions and challenges involved in trying to change what is to many, a fundamental rite of passage.
