Prison theatre

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · Curt L. Tofteland · 1995 · Kentucky, USA

What it is

"Prison theatre" is a family of applied-theatre programmes, not a single therapy with a manual. Neither Geese nor SBB is a regulated psychotherapy; both are theatre companies working inside criminal justice systems, alongside (and sometimes within) prison psychology or offending-behaviour…

Format

• Session arc (observed and described). Fast physical warm-up → trust exercises → focused exercises on status, power, powerlessness, fear and anger → theatre/mask scene processed with the group → small-group or personal work → written Thinking Report → closing go-round → homework.
• Residency sequence observed by Farrall. Day 1: names and contact games, Two Man Exercise, mask scene replayed and frozen, Thinking Report on a character, small groups (two Geese workers, one or two prison staff, three or four men) walking through a violent incident each man initiated, closing…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Formats. (1) Performance with audience interaction (e.g. Lift Your Mask!, the Handbook's chapter 9; full-mask plays in The Violent Illusion). (2) Multi-day residencies combining performance, workshops and small groups (Farrall observed a Monday-to-Friday residency culminating in the "Corrida" on Friday). (3) Rolling group programmes with probation (Mountford describes a three-year programme for violent men with West…
• What it is. "Prison theatre" is a family of applied-theatre programmes, not a single therapy with a manual. Neither Geese nor SBB is a regulated psychotherapy; both are theatre companies working inside criminal justice systems, alongside (and sometimes within) prison psychology or offending-behaviour provision. SBB began as a programme within the prison's psychology department.
• Geese devises issue-based plays and runs workshops, residencies and training in prisons, young offender institutions, probation and youth offending services; its handbook offers more than 100 exercises for offending-behaviour groupworkers, probation officers, prison officers and drama therapists. Change idea: behaviour follows from thoughts and feelings, so offending is treated as a process ("insult to injury") that…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• status play mirroring real wing hierarchies.
• bravado; the group bonding over shared justifications.
• over-processing that kills energy; keep it brief early on.
• the circle becoming a place for confession under peer pressure.
• participants who only shout "hit him"; ask what that would lead to.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.