Distraction burglary is a crime which takes away not just the material things, it takes away pride and self respect. Preying on the elderly and vulnerable in the community, criminals take advantage and abuse the trust of people of whom we owe so much.

Trickster raises the level of awareness of the issue of distraction burglary and dishonest doorstep traders and provides advice and builds confidence without raising the fear of crime. Through a specially written script, music and lyrics which tell the story Trickster can unite the audience against the bogus caller, help build resilience on the doorstep and encourage the wider community to look out for and protect those who may be at risk. Based around a main character George who remembers his commitment to his country through his action in the war, Trickster highlights that he risked his life for freedom yet the criminals who prey on older people repay that with their crime.

Why should we as a society let this happen – when we get older we want to be safe and we need to feel secure. Through supporting Trickster we can help deliver the prevention message and through our vigilance and response in the community we can send a clear message to those intent on preying on our most vulnerable that their crime will not pay.

I wrote the scripts, lyrics and music motivated by seeing the impact of these crimes on the victims and also inspired by the work in the community to fight back against the distraction burglar and in particular the work of the North Bournemouth Crime Prevention Panel. In developing a musical my aim is to bring people together to collectively share an experience that will arm them with information and confidence and reduce the risk of them becoming victim of crime. I hope people enjoy the show but importantly I hope that members of the audience feel more confident and are more aware having experinced the Trickster musical.

I would like to thank our actors, Ruth, Tim, Mark and Solomon Assocaited for all their professionalism and work in adapting the production for the tour. Bringing the show on tour has in itself been a team effort with just so many people to thank. Each and everyone who has contributed to putting on this performance has helped in the fight back against those people who seek to exploit the most vulnerable in our community.

-Andy Saunders MBE writer/composer Trickster