We are specialists in devising performances and developing innovative arts-based projects for people who have experiences of, or work within, criminal justice and social welfare contexts.

Interactive Performances for Service Users

Most of our performances are interactive and designed to challenge, provoke debate and raise awareness around specific issues. They are structured to include audience discussion and allow audience members to advise or interact with characters on stage. They also make use of the concept of mask as ‘front’ or coping strategy and audiences may encourage characters to ‘lift their masks’ to reveal thoughts and feelings which are often hidden.

Although we have a large repertoire of ‘off the peg’ pieces which explore issues such as violence reduction, safer custody, engagement with treatment and negotiating services in the community, we also create ‘bespoke’ pieces which are written in close consultation with the commissioning organisation.

We also have a number of pieces which are stylistically distinct from these interactive pieces. Examples are:

Previous which focuses on three men in a cell. It explores the impact that telling their own stories has on each of them. The men, often unwittingly, challenge each other’s perceptions of the roles they have played in their lives and the impact this has had on the people close to them.

Stay which is a piece about domestic abuse. The performance provides a challenging insight into the cycle of abuse, the attitudes and beliefs which support it and the impact of these on women and children. It is aimed at men who are involved in domestic abuse programmes.

Fear of Flying which is designed for drug and alcohol recovery communities. It explores the challenges and achievements of three contrasting recovery journeys through the rich metaphorical world of flight.

Groupwork

Our groupwork projects involve active experiential exercises and theatre and drama-based techniques. They are designed to be responsive to the needs of a particular group and are facilitated in a non-threatening, safe and enjoyable way. They can be focussed on broad themes like goal setting or strategies for well-being; or can explore more specific topics such as anger management or recovery maintenance.  Our practitioners are also experienced at exploring specific types of offending such as domestic abuse or sexual offending.

Using theatre, drama and metaphor allows us to explore internal processes (thoughts, feelings, beliefs) and their impact on behaviour; essentially the ‘mask’ and what lies beneath. Creating fictionalised characters and scenarios also allows us to work at ‘one step removed’, giving participants the opportunity to explore difficult material with an emotional ‘safety net’. Additionally, role-play gives participants the ideal opportunity to practice specific skills in a ‘rehearsal for life.’

Previous participants have noted the following outcomes among others:

• A greater understanding of self
• Increased motivation to change or reach a goal,
• An improved sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy
• Greater empathy and ability to perspective-take
• Improved social, communication and problem-solving skills.
• An extended repertoire of roles and skills to manage specific challenges.

Groupwork projects can vary in length from one day, to one week, and longer projects. We are aware that some people may have had no experience or negative experiences of theatre and drama but our practitioners are skilled at facilitating sessions that are non-threatening, safe and enjoyable.

Example groupwork projects include: Look Beyond, Used, Reconnect and Journey Man

Creative Projects

Our creative projects, which are generally between five and ten days in length, allow participants to explore relevant themes through a groupwork process overlaid with a theatre devising process. The culmination of this is a group-devised performance or film on the final day for an invited audience of peers, family members and/or staff.

Creative projects have similar outcomes for participants to groupwork projects but also give participants the opportunity to:

• Learn performance skills and discover their own creativity.
• Tell stories which have personal meaning and resonance.
• Produce a piece of work which they can take ownership of, and pride in.

Audience members also have the opportunity to see participants in a new and positive context while engaging with the material explored in the piece. Creative projects taking place in closed settings often result in improved morale and sense of community and more productive relationships between participants, audiences and staff.

Example creative projects in the community include: First Act and Staging Recovery and in custodial settings include: Prison Creative Projects, Black History Month at HMP Garth and a project exploring racism at HMP Huntercombe.

Performances for Professionals

We have been devising rigorously researched, dynamic and engaging performances for conferences and professional training events for 30 years, and deliver approximately 60 of these every 12 months. Performances already in repertoire or bespoke pieces designed in close consultation with the commissioning agency, closely mirror experiences that audiences may face in their professional roles. We devise pieces which meet the needs of single or multi-agency audiences and have worked with professionals from a wide variety of criminal justice, social welfare and related fields.

A key element of these performances is the exploration of mask as ‘front’ or coping strategy. Characters are asked to ‘lift their masks’ and we see how their external behaviour is informed by their internal world of thoughts, feelings and beliefs.

Discussion time is built into the structure of performances and can focus on exploring characters’ thoughts and feelings, giving advice to those characters and exploring the particular needs of service users, professionals or the agency / agencies as a whole.

These dynamic pieces:

• Allow audiences to engage on an emotional, as well as cognitive, level.
• Give audiences the opportunity to experience realities, relationships and environments which may normally be ‘hidden’ to them.
• Bring theory, research, or agency procedure to life.
• Illustrate the relationship between theory and practice and explore implications for ‘real people’.
• Encourage genuine debate and provoke delegates into action.

Examples of performances for professional audiences include: Conflict Zone, Inside Out, Getting Connected: Social Work, Connected, Knocking on the Door, and Home Advantage. 

Training for Professionals, Staff, Students and Artists

We deliver a range of experiential training inputs on the use of active theatre-based methods for groupwork including:

• The Other Side of The Wall: A three-day course on the use of theatre and drama-based methods in groupwork. Delivered at our offices in Birmingham or in your own work-place.
• Effective use of Roleplay: Usually a one or two-day course on understanding the uses of various types of role-play and delivering role-play safely and appropriately in a groupwork context.
• Bespoke training in the use of theatre and drama-based techniques geared towards an organisation’s specific needs and working contexts.

Staff and Team Development

We offer dynamic staff and team development sessions to allow groups of professionals to explore work-related themes through active theatre and drama-based methods. These sessions tend to focus on either team dynamics or working with service users and often cover elements of both.

Through collaborative problem-solving exercises, teams build on positive dynamics and identify areas which need working on. By scrutinising fictionalised scenarios and characters, participants are able to gain a more in-depth understanding of the needs of the people they work with and to consolidate their own working practices.

By exploring the concept of mask as ‘front’ or coping strategy, participants gain a greater insight into the function of certain behaviours which leads to exploration of appropriate responses. Participants have the opportunity to practice managing challenging work-related scenarios through forum roleplay.

We know that for some the notion of drama can be intimidating but our practitioners are skilled at facilitating sessions that are non-threatening, safe and enjoyable.

For an example of one of our staff and team development sessions take a look at Behind the Mask.

Film Projects

We work in close partnership with a number of highly experienced, professional film-makers to produce quality films for training and events.

Read about our latest work with Emotion Coaching UK here.

Role-Play Providers

All our practitioners are experienced at taking on complex roles, facilitating role-play sessions and providing constructive feedback to participants. Our deep knowledge of the criminal justice and broader social welfare systems makes us adept at providing actors who can accurately portray professionals and service users.

Bespoke Projects / Performances

If you want to explore a particular theme with your group, develop a training package around a specific topic or would like to work with us to devise a performance which highlights particular issues, then get in touch. We specialise in working closely with partner organisations and commissioners to ensure the project / performance meets your needs exactly.