Dramatizing Anti-Human Trafficking Narratives in John Godber's Sold and Andrew Kooman's She Has a Name

Abstract

Human trafficking is a pervasive global issue that profoundly affects millions of lives, particularly those of women and children who are disproportionately vulnerable to exploitation. This crime, characterized by the total control of one person by another for the purpose of economic gain, has been examined across various disciplines, including sociology, economics, human rights, and literature. However, A focused study on anti-trafficking narratives within selected postmodern plays remains largely unexplored. Thus, the study addresses this gap by analyzing two notable postmodern plays that engage with human trafficking: John Godber's Sold (2007) and Andrew Kooman's She Has a Name (2017). The study aim is to examine the trafficking and antitrafficking narratives within these plays to elucidate the mechanisms of trafficking and the anti-narratives employed by the playwrights. Methodlogically speaking, Gayle Rubin's concept of "The Traffic in Women: Notes on the Political Economy of Sex" (1975) is utilized to explore the trafficking narrative in Sold, specifically focusing on the gendered dimensions of exploitation that target women. Alexis A. Aronowitz's model Human Trafficking, Human Misery (2011) further enhances the analysis of child trafficking mechanisms in She Has a Name, detailing the processes of victimization and control. Moreover, Michel Foucault's A Preface to Transgression (1977) is employed to examine the anti-trafficking narratives within these texts, offering a framework for understanding how these plays resist and challenge dominant trafficking discourses. Through this analysis, the thesis demonstrates how both Godber and Kooman effectively employ dramatic techniques to critique the mechanisms of trafficking and advocate for resistance via anti-trafficking narratives. It concludes that these playwrights successfully circulate powerful anti-trafficking narratives in their plays through the characters of Ray in Sold and Jason and Marta in She Has a Name.