NEPALESE child trafficking survivors will tell their story in an extraordinary circus production - As A Tiger In The Jungle - which will tour the UK this summer, including four performances at Cardigan’s Theatr Mwldan on June 20-22.

As a Tiger in the Jungle tells the real-life story of three performers from Nepal, trafficked into circuses as children and into a life of slavery.

Using spoken word, movement, circus and ceremony, they tell the story of how, against all odds, they survived their childhood and created their own destiny, using the skills learnt in captivity in a positive and empowering way.

This powerful and poignant show represents an international production partnership between prize-winning director Sverre Waage (Cirkus Xanti, Norway) and creative producer Ali Williams (co-founder and former artistic director of nofitstate, Wales).

In 2013, Williams was privileged to spend a year working as the creative director with Circus Kathmandu. This was a contemporary circus group made up of 13 young men and women who were all child trafficking survivors.

Traffickers had taken them to traditional Indian circuses, with the promise of stardom and opportunity. Instead the children had entered a life of slavery, exploitation and abuse in circuses that became their prisons.

Ali found these young people to be remarkable in their resilience and enthusiasm as they turned their lives around. For they were utilising and adapting their hard-won performing skills towards making an artistic and social impact.

Now two of the group, Renu Ghalan and Aman Tamang, join Norwegian Vietnamese artist Loan Tp Hoang in recounting their tales of lost childhoods in As a Tiger in the Jungle (the tiger is a metaphor for the traffickers).

Williams says: “We are pleased to have created a meaningful and engaging performance based on true stories from the performers’ lives.

“I was inspired by the young artists from Circus Kathmandu and am delighted to be able to employ Aman and Renu in a professional capacity and utilise the skills they learnt in captivity in a positive and empowering way.

“This gives the performance an authenticity rarely seen on stage today”.

It is a unique fusion of Asian and European performance, circus and music, set to an original score by Per Zanussi. Suitable for ages eight-plus.

Tickets for As A Tiger In The Jungle are £12 (£10) and are available now from Theatr Mwldan’s box office on 01239 621200, online at www.mwldan.co.uk or via the Mwldan app.

Performances take place on Thursday, June 20 (7pm); Friday, June 21 (7pm); Saturday, June 22 (2pm and 6pm).