Trapping filmmakers and rapper Abra Cadabra to take ‘grim reality’ of county lines drugs to parliament
It takes just minutes for the scenes to turn grim: a dirty trap house, a drug user injecting scabbed feet, a tiny baby crawling amid the filth.
This is Trapping, a new British film starring MOBO-winning drill rapper Abra Cadabra and produced by filmmakers and grime pioneers Femi Oyeniran and Nicky “Slimting” Walker.
Later this evening, they take the story to parliament for a discussion about the bleak reality of the UK’s county lines problem, where vulnerable adults and children as young as six, according to the Children’s Society, are recruited to move and supply drugs.
While the portrayal of drug dealing often shown on screen has long drawn criticism for glamourising the lifestyle, the same cannot be said for Trapping. Rather than focusing on the “girls, the money, the cars”, as writer and director Penny Woolcock tells Sky News, it delves into the world of “going county” and those on the frontline, also showing the hopelessness of the addicts they feed.
Louis Ede plays main character Daz. Pic: Alice Dunhill
Raised on the Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham, Abra Cadabra, real name Aaron Philips, told Sky News at the film’s premiere that he drew on his personal experiences to play county lines gang leader Magic.
“It’s reality,” he said. “It’s what some of the kids in London go through growing up. It’s good to show what’s really going on… I’ve seen a couple of my friends go through stuff like that. It hit home.”
Louis Ede, who plays main character Daz, a young boy wanting to earn some money to help his struggling mum, is now 20 but had just turned 18 when filming started.
“I learnt a lot of things I didn’t know before. I’ve been around people who have been in that environment – that’s why, in a way, it was kind of easy for me to portray the character because I could channel the things I’ve experienced from my past. However, saying that, I didn’t know how gritty that lifestyle actually is until I shot the film.”
‘This is not just a black problem – it’s a white problem, too’
Nicky ‘Slimting’ Walker and Femi Oyeniran at the premiere of Trapping
For the film’s stars and creators, taking the debate to parliament is a big deal. Oyeniran and Abra Cadabra will be part of a panel supported by campaigner and chief executive of Enact Equality L’myah Sherae; author and activist Ben Lindsay, founder of Power The Fight; filmmaker and youth coach Amani Simpson; and Labour MP for Streatham Bell Ribeiro-Addy.
They are calling on the government to launch a creative grants scheme to help young people in need, taking stats from the Children’s Society stating that 46,000 children in England – and likely many more unknown – are thought to be involved in gangs, with 4,000 teenagers being criminally exploited in London alone.
They say the situation has been made worse by the recent rise in children reported missing from school and increasing child poverty.
Oyeniran, who started his career starring in the cult classic Kidulthood and went on to produce films including It’s A lot, The Intent and The 12, says widening the debate is as important as the film itself.
“[Trapping] gives a rounded perspective of drug dealing,” he says. “Sometimes you look at films about drugs and it’s either a critique of drug use, or it’s about drug dealers. This shows the real side, it humanises the drug users, and also it shows that it’s beyond just a working class thing, it’s also a middle class thing. And it’s not just a black problem, it’s a white problem, too.”
Too often, in the media and with politicians as well as in film and TV, the focus is on gangs, he says. “It’s titillating, the idea of a gang is scary, and all of that stuff. But let’s talk about the middle-class people that live in counties that consume drugs… who are these drugs being sold to?”
Abra Cadabra also recorded the soundtrack for the film, and performed at the premiere in London
Read more on Sky News:
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Organised crime group targeted in ‘largest single operation’ to close down county lines
Walker, his filmmaking partner, says he hopes children and young people watching the film will be put off the lifestyle often sold to them. “There’s only one thing that happens to you when you’re a drug dealer – you end up going to jail for a very long time. Or, you end up dead.
“A film like Trapping will show you the dark side. It’s not glamourising, to be the next Pablo Escobar. It’s not showing you about the flashy clothes and all these things… it’s showing that you’re in this sh*tty, horrible flat, that it smells, and you’re around dirty people.”
‘This is about protecting children’
Woolcock said she wanted to make something authentic, that young people vulnerable to the lifestyle could relate to. You have kids that queue up [to sell drugs] because they think it’s going to be great. We wanted to show that, that’s truthful.”
Woolcock is calling on MPs to tackle the problem. “Youth service has been cut to shreds, there’s virtually no youth provision. Poverty and inequality have increased and those are the underlying causes, why people want to get into this.
“A kid in a certain neighbourhood will think there are three options: you are either a drug dealer, a footballer or a rapper, and that is it.”
“Politicians have a responsibility to end this issue,” says Ms Sherae. “In order to protect the next generation, they have to do more and introduce laws to really think about prevention rather than a hard line on drug use. If you think about this as a safeguarding issue, this is about protecting children.”
The Trapping movie panel discussion takes place this evening, with the film released on Friday on The Drop, a new streaming platform which aims to serve minority and underrepresented audiences and promote independent and upcoming British talent, supported by the British Film Institute and launched by Oyeniran and Walker’s Fan Studios.
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
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In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
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