Prison Theatre event at UEL
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Published
05 February 2024
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The role of theatre and the performing arts in turning prisoners’ lives around will be the focus of an event at the University of East London on 21 February 2024. The programme will include presentations from Synergy Theatre, a performing arts company that works with inmates, ex-prisoners and young people at risk of offending. One of Synergy’s two speakers, Karl Smith, has direct knowledge of the role of theatre in prisons, having performed in Synergy’s programmes while himself a prisoner in Brixton.
And UEL speaker Juliet Knight, Programme Leader, BA (Hons) Acting for Stage and Screen, has taken her directorial work to the Home Office as a catalyst for addressing knife crime policy with MPs. She has also worked with Clean Break, producing work with and for incarcerated women.
Other attendees include Catch22, a social business which focuses on building relationships with prisoners, ex-prisoners and victims of crime, and Lucy Morrison, a director who has worked with some of London's best-known theatres, including the Royal Court, Clean Break and Hampstead Theatre. UEL Visiting Research Fellow and former probation officer Pan Haynes will be discussing her experiences too. Also attending will be Collective Encounters, a charity specialising in theatre for social change based in Liverpool.
The event is a collaboration between the University’s School of Arts and Creative Industries (ACI) and UEL’s Royal Docks School of Business and Law (RDSBL). ACI Associate Professor Liselle Terret and RDSBL’s Dr Emma Cunningham have led the project, which also sees attendees taking part in participative activities and a panel discussion.
Dr Cunningham said,
We are delighted to have been invited to work in partnership with ACI, and the Performing Arts Department for this strategic event that aligns with our strategy of promoting cross-school collaboration, community engagement, and partnerships with external organisations.
Following the event, the organisers plan to submit an external bid for future funding to sustain and expand this innovative collaboration.
The initiative is also supported by UEL’s Research Centre for Social Change and Justice, the Office for Institutional Equity, and ACI’s Employer Engagement Team, and our new partner, The Arts Venue (Also known as The Source).
The event aims to foster collaboration and conversations among students, UEL colleagues, the youth service, and outside organisations from a wide variety of fields, including law, policing, criminology, drama and applied theatre. It will take place between 3-6pm on 21 February 2024 in The Arts Venue, University Square Stratford. To attend the event and for details of how to get there please use the button below:
More details about the event can be obtained from Associate Professor Terret (L.Terret@uel.ac.uk) and Dr Cunningham (e.cunningham@uel.ac.uk ).