At the end of 2019, over the course of four weeks and under the guidance of a Kestrel creative team, thirteen men from HMP Springhill devised and wrote the original pantomime Rio’s Extraordinary Christmas.
The project was in collaboration with The Irene Taylor Trust who worked with four men to produce five original music tracks for the show, which were performed by a live band during performances.
All men were released from their normal duties for the length of the project but continued to be paid to work on the production.
Rio’s Extraordinary Christmas was performed to audiences of over 300 staff, residents, family, friends and outside guests over five performances in HMP Springhill’s Association Room, which had been transformed for the occasion into a magical space.
The original music was recorded on to CD for all the participants.
I never understood what it means to put something like this together. To take the improvisation and ideas and then write a script from it. I loved that my ideas were included and I was happy that was going to play the parts I’d created. But then because of circumstances I was asked to be a much larger part, Buddy the Elf. You said you believed in me, and that gave me confidence.
Andy - Performer
Theatre and films from Kestrel.