The three GCSE students in Sonali Bhattacharyya’s play are well versed in comic book heroes and ninja warriors. They are steeped in Moon Girl, Kid Kree and Ms Marvel. They also know about the warp effects of The Matrix and the idea of precrime in Minority Report. What does not occur to them, any more than the need to put their ninja skills into practice, is that they may be accused of a precrime themselves.
Orwellian though thoughtcrime sounds, it is the foundation of the government’s Prevent strategy in England and Wales. Designed to weed out radicalisation before it happens, it requires education and health workers to look out for the early signs of extremism among the people they work with. Amnesty International says it has a “chilling effect on human rights”.
