Abstract

Based on over a decade of practice-based research in prisons across the UK, Playing for Time Theatre Company presents the reader with a rich and invaluable resource for using theatre as intervention, transformation and rehabilitation. The book aims to analyse and reflect upon over ten years of theatre productions staged in HMP Winchester, a Category C prison, amongst other sites. During this time, McKean has developed a unique model of practice for undergraduate students working alongside prisoners, developing productions and leading workshops. The work draws on diverse methodologies and approaches, from community theatre practices to forensic psychology and criminology, performance studies to critical theory. The book asks: how can theatre enable prisoners to explore notions of self, identity and community? And what are the key theoretical and ethical considerations in asking these questions? Providing unprecedented access to a significant body of prison theatre, Playing for Time Theatre Company presents both an overview and analysis of an extensive body of work, as well as offering perspectives on the shape of the UK criminal justice system from 2000 onwards.
Annie Mckean was a Senior Fellow in Knowledge Exchange at the University of Winchester lecturing in applied drama and theaterand drama in education. She was artistic director of Playing for Time Theatre Company, delivering theaterprojects in HMP Winchester, for over a decade. Kate Massey-Chase is an AHRC-funded PhD student at the University of Exeter, researching how applied theater could support young people in the transition between child and adolescent and adult mental health services, and a visiting lecturer on the MA Applied Theatre at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.