Knife crime and county lines are often spoken about in statistics, headlines, and soundbites. But for many young people across the UK, these issues are not abstract – they are part of the world they move through every day. They shape choices, friendships, risks, and survival. CODE, presented by Justice in Motion, steps into this reality with urgency, empathy, and a determination to tell a more human story.
Rather than presenting a distant narrative, CODE invites audiences to experience the emotional and social dynamics behind exploitation. Through physical theatre and immersive storytelling, the piece explores how young people can become entangled in county lines networks – not simply through “bad decisions,” but through a complex web of coercion, pressure, loyalty, and limited opportunity. It highlights the complexity of these stories, rather than labelling people as victims or perpetrators.
In today’s climate, CODE is particularly vital. Conversations around knife crime are often dominated by fear-based rhetoric, while the conditions enabling exploitation – poverty, school exclusion, lack of youth provision, and systemic inequality – receive less attention. At the same time, county lines operations continue to evolve, using social media and peer networks to recruit younger and more vulnerable individuals. For many young people, the line between safety and risk is increasingly blurred.
CODE responds to this landscape not by offering easy answers, but by creating space for recognition and reflection. A central hope for the work is that young audiences feel seen rather than judged – that they recognise elements of their own experiences, or those of people around them, represented with honesty and care. By centering their perspective, the piece resists harmful stereotypes and instead acknowledges the complexity of navigating adolescence in an unequal society.
Beyond the immediate experience of the performance, the aspirations for the tour are rooted in connection and conversation. Justice in Motion hopes the work will act as a catalyst – opening dialogue in schools, youth groups, and communities where these topics can be difficult to address. When young people are given language to describe what they are seeing and experiencing, it becomes easier to question it, challenge it, and seek support.
There is also a practical urgency to this awareness. Understanding how exploitation operates – how grooming can be disguised as friendship, how debt can be manufactured, how control can be exerted – can help young people identify risk earlier. For educators, youth workers, and families, the work offers a powerful tool to begin conversations that might otherwise feel out of reach.
At its heart, CODE is about more than exposing a problem. It is about shifting perspectives: challenging the narratives that frame young people as problematic, and instead asking audiences to consider the systems and circumstances that shape their choices. It is about ensuring that those most affected are not spoken about but listened to.
As the tour unfolds, our ambition is not that theatre alone can solve these issues. But it can play a vital role in interrupting silence, building empathy, and creating space for change. In a landscape where exploitation can thrive unseen, that act – of making the invisible visible – matters. We’re excited to be working alongside a range of committed partners who share that vision and understand the importance of creative, community-led approaches to engaging young people. Together, the hope is to create opportunities for dialogue, reflection, and connection that continue long after the performance has ended.