On the surface, 鈥淭he Walk鈥� tells the story of a nun, a playwright, and a director trying to write a play about women who have been victims of sex trafficking.

In the depths of the play, the three bicker amongst themselves which in turn makes the trafficked women鈥檚 stories come alive.

The story is based on playwright Catherine Cunningham-Huston鈥檚 experience while still living in Ottawa. She said in 2009, she was approached by an activist nun who wanted her to write the stories of trafficked women. Cunningham-Huston said the nun wanted it to serve as a platform for the women, but also to serve as a warning and educational tool for others.

And, from there the play took off. It was first presented at the Ottawa Fringe Festival in June 2011. After a six-show run in 2012, Cunningham-Huston said Public Service Canada asked her to adapt the play into an audio production for their truck stop safety campaign. She said the point was to alert workers to the sex trafficking that happened at truck stops, and how they could help stop it.

Now, the play is in 琉璃神社, co-produced by Cunningham-Huston鈥檚 Moon Dog Theatre, Global Citizen Events, Theatre 琉璃神社 Society and Fred Skeleton Theatre Company.

Beth Fotheringham plays the activist nun Sister Maureen in the 琉璃神社 production. Since getting involved with the show, she said it surprised her how much sex trafficking happened.

鈥淚t happened so much more than I thought. And it鈥檚 like other things where you become aware of it and suddenly you鈥檙e seeing stories about it everywhere,鈥� she said.

鈥淭he most impactful thing for me is learning just how widespread it is and the amount of money being made from trafficking human beings.鈥�

The production鈥檚 director Kim Fournier said they鈥檝e had positive feedback for their portrayal of a heavy subject.

鈥淪ometimes, we鈥檙e surprised with how much they learned about the issue because there are so many facts and statistics about it and it can be overwhelming,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 making them think and talk about the issue, which is the whole purpose of the show. We want people to realize this isn鈥檛 just something that鈥檚 happening somewhere, it happens here too.鈥�

鈥淭he Walk鈥� runs until Feb. 29 at the Rotary Centre for the Arts. For tickets, visit .

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