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Research and Evaluation

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As one of the leading organisations promoting the use of the arts in criminal justice settings, we take our commitment to research, evaluating the efficacy of our work, and disseminating good practice seriously. Many of our projects are independently researched by forensic psychologists, criminologists and applied theatre academics.

Research Papers

A selection of independent, academic research and evaluation papers exploring aspects of our work.

Inspiring Futures – Final Report – Arts in CJS settings – 2024 View
Staging Recovery – Final Report – a recovery community project – 2020 View
Staging Recovery – “I’d probably be dead now” – a recovery community project – 2020 View
Staging Recovery – Changing Identities – a recovery community project – 2019 View
Scratching the Surface – well-being and hope project in women’s prison – 2018 View
The Phoenix Project – a community project with female survivors of domestic abuse – 2018 View
Write to be Heard – a prison creative writing programme – 2014 View
Silent Partners – a full-mask prison performance for women – 2014 View
Inside Talk – a prison oracy project – 2009 View
Reconnect – a prison resettlement programme – 2008 View
Insult to Injury – a prison programme exploring violence – 2008 View
The Violent Illusion Trilogy – a prison project exploring violence – 1988 View

If you want to explore a wider range of research and evaluation documents on the impact of arts-based projects, programmes and interventions within the Criminal Justice System then check out the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance’s searchable database, The Evidence Library.

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Geese handbook

Our handbook

It’s packed full of practical exercises you can use if you’d like to use drama exercises in facilitation or groupwork, and gives you more information on our methodology.

Purchasing the handbook is a great way to help support the growth of Geese Theatre.

Find out more & purchase

Reading list

A selection of book chapters and articles written about Geese and by Geese.

Baim – Drama in Prisons, Blatner, A. and Wiener, D. (Eds.) Interactive and Improvisational Drama: Varieties of Applied Theatre and Performance, 2006 (New York: iUniverse) View
Baim, Brookes, Mountford (Eds) – The Geese Theatre Handbook, Waterside Press View
Balfour, Heywood and Watson – Geese Theatre 30 Years On in Performing Arts in Prisons: Creative Perspectives, Intellect, Bristol, Balfour M; Bartleet B-L; Davey L; Rynne J; Schippers H, (eds.), 2019, UK View
Balfour – The Use of Drama in Rehabilitation of Violent Male Offenders (The Edwin Mellen Press) View
Bergman and Hewish – The Violent Illusion (in Liebmann, Arts Approaches to Conflict, Jessica Kingsley Publishers)
Farrall and Mountford – The House of Four Rooms (in Thompson (Ed), Prison Theatre Practices and Perspectives, Jessica Kingsley Publishers)
Hewish – Dramatic Improvisation (Cox (Ed), Shakespeare Comes to Broadmoor, Jessica Kinglsey Publishers)
Jackson – Theatre, Education and the Making of Meanings (Manchester University Press) View
Moore – Acting Out: Therapy for Groups (Arena)
Watson – The Drama of Change (in Mailout, October / November 2006)
Watson – Lift Your Mask! Geese Theatre Company in Performance (in Prentki and Preston (Eds) An Applied Theatre Reader, Routledge 2008) View
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Frequently Asked Questions

We have tried to answer as many of the questions we are regularly asked as possible. If you are a student, a researcher, a commissioner, looking for work or simply interested in finding out more, then please check out our dedicated FAQ page.

FAQs