GALA PREVIEW IN AID OF DRUG TREATMENT AGENCY ADDACTION.

GALA PREVIEW IN AID OF DRUG TREATMENT AGENCY ADDACTION.

There will be a Charity Gala Preview of the double-bill Rita, Sue & Bob Too / A State Affair , at the Soho Theatre on 29th Nov 01 in aid of drug treatment agency Addaction.

Addaction is a UK charity working solely in the field of drug and alcohol treatment. Founded in 1967, they now have over thirty projects within communities and prisons currently meeting the needs of over 40,000 people in the UK.

Illegal drug use in the UK has risen dramatically since Dunbar first wrote Rita, Sue and Bob Too. Childhood experimentation with heroin, begins, on average, at age 15 (two years younger than the 1980's) with increasing numbers involved with crack cocaine. There are an estimated 270,000 heroin users in the UK alone.

Addaction has 120 tickets for the gala charity night at the small Soho Theatre, 21 Dean St, Covent Garden. The play is directed by veteran director Max Stafford-Clark and performed by the Out of Joint theatre company.

The preview will be followed by a drinks reception. All profits from the night's event will go to support the work of Addaction.

For tickets (priced at £20) and theatre information contact Matt Andrews, Events Co-ordinator, 020 7251 5860 or email info@addaction.org.uk

Factsheet
1. Addaction has over 30 drugs services across the country, and saw 40,000 clients at its projects last year. The charity offers day- programme and harm reduction services within communities, works closely with the Probation Service, the Police and the Courts to provide treatment services within the Criminal Justice system, operates Drugs Testing and Treatment Orders, and also runs several Therapeutic Communities in prisons, working closely with HM Prison service.

2. Addaction believes parents have a key role to play in prevention and in helping young people access help to drug treatment and information. We have recently produced a booklet launched by, paid for by the Co-operative Insurance Society, to help inform parents about all aspects of drugs and young people.

3. Childhood drugs experimentation figures, source: " Hidden Heroin Users" Manchester University.

4. It is estimated that there are 270,000 heroin users in the UK in 2001 (source British Crime Survey 2000)