In July 2023 we ran our IGNITE play-in-a-week project at HMP Elmley.
A team of two directors, a producer and a dramaturg collaborated with a group of eight men to create a play in a week.
Throughout the week, the group kept returning to ideas around the possibility for change – and the barriers to it. Out of this idea, the men developed an anthology play, called Change Takes Time.
It was performed to a large audience of prison staff and other invited guests on the final afternoon.
"This was by far the best week of my working career, working with this cohort of people. There was so much mutual respect and kindness within the group it really made me feel so proud of their journeys and where they were now heading to. Thank you, Kestrel, you were all amazing and I feel very privileged to have been on this journey with you all."
— Claire Morris, Neurodiversity Support Manager at HMP Elmley
Theatre and films from Kestrel.