'You've got these twinkling eyes, all bright and dancey… They will love taking that from you.'

Tia has been in care since she was three. She can't stand her foster mum, and her friends keep letting her down. But when she meets AJ, a charismatic older man, he seems like the answer to all her problems. At first, he is. But AJ has done this before, and after the gifts and compliments come the threats and abuse.

When fourteen-year-old Katie moves to town, a chink of light appears in the darkness that's threatening to swallow Tia.

Firebird is a gripping, unflinching drama about grooming and exploitation, exposing the systemic failures that allow it to continue.

Phil Davies' play premiered at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2015 before transferring to the West End. This revised edition was published to coincide with the play's revival at Southwark Playhouse, London, in 2026, presented by Double Telling and directed by Marlie Haco.



Phil Davies is a playwright and screenwriter. His other work for stage includes Landmines, How To Not Murder and Up The Dale.



'Remarkably potent... what's remarkable about Davies's writing is how little it hectors and how lifelike it feels. It's angry, it's witty, it makes degradation vivid and infuriating'



'Short, sharp, and appropriately nasty… Davies' writing also brims with a fierce energy'



'Blisteringly intense… unforgettable'



'Chilling to watch... the fact that Davies' play is not a straight retelling of the events [in Rochdale], rather a tense and queasy drama loosely inspired by them, has prevented it from dating quickly... it delivers a dizzying blow'



'A must-see… Davies perfectly captures the complexities of human relationships'



'Powerful and harrowing… [a] gripping and highly emotive drama'



'Gutwrenching... presents trauma in all its complexities and contradictions, and forces us not to look away'



'Devastating'



'A gripping piece of theatre... shocking and painfully relevant'



'Unsettling... disorienting in exactly the right way... one of the most accomplished pieces of theatre-making currently playing in London'



'A raw, unflinching portrayal of child exploitation which is unsettling and uncomfortable to watch. This play is tough, but important'