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LSW &
HMP Pentonville
in association with UK Drama Schools
& their attendant University Partners
(plus Cambridge & Oxford Unions, The Voice, Grazing Hill,
Royal Society for the Arts & National Prison Radio)
present
The
LINKED-UP
Initiative
or just ...
PROJECT MAXIM:
Make not your
thoughts your
prisons.
... Thought is Free.
Two lines of Shakespeare.
The first is spoken by Octavius Caesar in Act 5, Scene 2 of Antony & Cleopatra
The second sung by the drunken fool Stephano in Act 3, Scene 2 of the Bard's
last play, The Tempest.
Together they make up one full line of iambic pentameter
Together they are LINKED UP
or 'LUPPED'.
BUT WHAT DOES 'LUPPED' MEAN?
In
celebrating this new 'LINKED
UP Initiative' - as well as
the occasion of LSW's 20th birthday - we are
coining a new word much as
the Bard himself so often
did. In this instance
it is an ACTIVE verb.
It is 'LUP'.
'To LUP' means to
- or as we have come to
understand it -
bring disparate bodies
together in hope.
Linked up
(or lupped) thinking is not something prisons are oft celebrated
for.
The theatre - most especially Shakespeare - thrives on Community.
The London Shakespeare Workout, founded in 1997,
has as its
stated purpose:
'To employ the works of Shakespeare and other major writers/thinkers
as a tool towards effective interaction in order to promote confidence
through the will to dream for ALL.'
Since 1998 LSW has been taking actors into prisons.
LSW has taken professional actors - and those training to become such - into 100 different prisons in England alone
-
and countless more inside and out of criminal justice regimes throughout the
globe.
“LSW works at the highest level …. What is most impressive
is the commitment of the entire company
and its rare passion for language”
Michael Billington, The Guardian
You taught me
language; and my profit on't
Is, I know how to curse.
Caliban in The Tempest, Act 1, Scene 2
For the past 18 years LSW has been privileged to run a prison
incentive
with graduating students from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
In 2017 this officially became part of RADA's core BA curriculum.
Now we dream of a prison interaction for EVERY UK drama
student,
or certainly for as many as might be afforded that privilege.
We believe this is a vital part of their training as our future key communicators.
The play's the
thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.
The title character speaking in Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2
BUT WHY SHOULD THIS INTERACTION WORK?
Perhaps because -
for a performing
artist - for ANY
performing artist -
there are very few
things one can do
where you
immediately know
that what you do is
actually vitally
important; is
socially critical.
This incentive
offers just such an
opportunity.
It
holds, as t'were, a
mirror up to many
and contrasting
natures; your own as
much as
anyone else's.
It was a truly inspiring
experience. I will never
forget it. It was so
extraordinary and
liberating to see the
inmates release their
energy in such a
positive and joyful way.
At the same time, I felt
the workshops were
getting to the central
pulse of Shakespeare and
allowing us all to share
in that extraordinary
language. ....
John
Heffernan, actor,
... written
while he was still a
drama school student ...
taking part in a
workout from which you
can see a variety of
other responses
here.
On the way home, sitting
on the tube, I suddenly
stumbled upon a thought.
"I wonder if we are the
learners and they are
the teachers?"
Rupert Evans,
actor
written in a
prison diary entry
while still a drama
student at The Drama
Centre
What
was especially wonderful
about Tuesday was not just
that I felt exhilarated
about the Workout but also
that most people around me
seemed to be, even those who
had taken part many times
previously. I
mentioned that it was a
refreshing experience at the
start of this ramble! What I
meant was that I was
privileged to take part in a
non-judgmental Workout.
It was brilliant to see the
guys supporting and
encouraging one another and
to find the lovely Prison
Officer Hedge getting
involved too! Bruce's
energy for this project is
infectious. It was
really a very special day.
Anna Maxwell Martin, actor
written in a
prison diary while still a LAMDA drama student
By
the end of our time together
any lack of focus witnessed
in our opening exercise had
given-way to an almost blasé
boldness. Once we were
underway I almost had to
remind myself that these
were offenders; we were a
group working together with
the sole aim of enjoying
ourselves as much as we
could in the time we had - a
time to play and to learn
and perhaps help some find a
new focus. As the session
drew to a close and the
wardens urged the men to
make their way, their
gratitude was quite
overwhelming and I was aware
how VERY privileged I was to
have met them and in no time
at all we were back outside
in the ‘real’ world,
smelling of mortality.
Zeb Soanes, BBC Radio 4 News
Reader
written in a
prison diary
When the session came to
an end, I looked at my
watch and realised that
four hours had flown by,
and that it was now dark
outside. We had all
forgotten ourselves –
all of us, actors and
inmates. Marcus, one of
the most enthusiastic of
the group, came up to
shake my hand. ‘Happy
Christmas’, he said.
‘You too’, I replied,
and then realised what
I’d said. But maybe
that’s not so bad. There
is no doubt in my mind
that Bruce and all
involved with LSW that
afternoon went some way
to making all their
Christmases just that
little bit brighter.
Tom Hiddleston,
actor
written in a
prison diary while
still a Classics student
at Cambridge
before
he went to RADA and
enjoyed a prison
interaction there as
well.
BUT
WHAT OF THE PRISONERS?
HOW DO THEY RESPOND?
With a sense
of concerted deja vu we
return to
HMP
Pentonville - one
of LSW's original prison
homes -
for an early
LSW response -
I know
that for one afternoon
in Pentonville prison,
Shakespeare was more
alive than he is in
plenty of theatres
around the country on
any day of the week.
Lynn
Gardner, The Guardian
See the full article
with prisoner responses
here.
One
HMP Pentonville prisoner, Rendrick,
puts the
history of a project he was proud
to appear in into verse.
He calls it:
Shakespeare in the Big House.
I
was surprised to see the
visitors mingling with us,
the inmates, as if we'd
known each other for years.
After going through with the
Workout, I felt the mask on
my face falling off because
I was able to be myself
without any of the drama
group members making me feel
like a criminal. They
made me feel special.
Finally, the one thing that
touched my heart was when
the leader of the group said
that 'Shakespeare's
language, belongs to all of
us and we must not let
anyone take that away from
us. I really enjoyed
myself and looking at the
eyes of my fellow inmates, I
think they did enjoy the
whole Workout.
Benson, a prisoner
writes in a letter
after a workout
here.
Another
letter from an inmate in
another London prison
describes precisely the key
to success in this arena:
I
apologise for the length of
this letter but very few
people in here from the
authorities to inmates
understand that
'rehabilitation' will never
come from incarceration or,
for that matter, the
domestic jobs allocation.
It will only ever come
through education and to
educate you must 'inspire'
an interest to learn.
Angus, a prisoner
Samples of segments of
original inmate verse as
inspired by
Shakespeare and created by inmates
in LSW
prison sessions are
here
presented by
LSW's Co-Founder
(alongside Dame Dorothy Tutin),
Dr.
Bruce Wall.
There are
today, of course, volumes of
verses written in these
sessions. You will find a few
more samples in the 98 strong
prison diaries catalogue
here. One verse by a
lady prisoner serving a life
sentence was
here recorded by RADA
graduate, Juliet Stevenson, CBE.
(Password: LSWMOTHER - all caps)
We stopped collecting diary
entries long ago only because
the strength of the outcomes
noted - albeit hugely
appreciated - simply became too
repetitive. It was clear.
The Project worked .. and the
work itself ... on the ground
... its very heartbeat - was
simply more important.
Proudly it now speaks for
itself. It MUST.
Practical returns WILL keep
coming.
The work
that Bruce Wall is doing in
prisons is more powerful and
persuasive than any conventional
rehab or educational approach I
have ever encountered. It
is transformative in the
broadest sense: It uses a wide
range of linguistic, theatrical
and social skills to surprise
and delight and - crucially -
disarm hardened and defensive
young men and women who have
largely given up on themselves
and the world around them.
Working with Wall and
Shakespeare is so improbable and
yet so revealing, it launches
the long process of
transformation that is involved
in changing lives.
Criminologist & Film
Maker, Prof. Roger Graef, CBE
WHAT IS
THE 'LINKED UP' (or 'LUPPED') INITIATIVE?
In
celebration of its 20 years
toil, LSW is honoured to join
with HMP Pentonville in a
hope to (a) offer a meaningful
prison interaction with as many
UK drama school/performance arts
academy students as is possible
and, in doing so, (b) offer as
many inmates as possible an
opportunity to share in an
enhanced dramatic experience -
especially for those for whom
conventional education may have
failed.
HOW IS
THIS WORK TO BE LINKED UP or LUPPED?
To this end LSW has LINKED UP with HMP
Pentonville
(i) to allow students in
major UK Drama Schools/Performance
Training Academies
to share in a
Shakespeare Workout. These
workouts themselves will
directly
feed (in that it will source apt men)
for an eight week
complimentary
drama programme which itself will be
LINKED UP.
They will be well and truly LUPPED.
BUT
HOW?
(ii) This
'in-house' drama programme will
run on an eight week turnaround
basis with (iii) each assigned
period being governed by a
dedicated theme which itself
will (iv) be directly
LINKED UP/LUPPED through a
presentation in (v) a bi-monthly
conference run via the auspices
of the Royal Society for the
Arts. (vi) Pertinent
themed/related materials will be
generated and published by the
in-house HMP Pentonville
magazine, THE VOICE and (vii) a
debating training programme run
variously by the
Oxford/Cambridge Unions and an
organisation of training
solicitors called Grazing will
LINK UP with the theme when
prudent. (viii) There will
be featured broadcasts
throughout UK prisons by the
in-house National Prison Radio
(NPR) training scheme in order
that the greatest number might
share in the wealth of
this LINKED UP or - as we now
know it - LUPPED resource.
In
time it is hoped to add (ix)
a digital shooting and
editing video training
programme such as LSW had
previously run in HMP
Pentonville. This
would again be fronted by
skilled film makers and/or
those training to become so
under the 'Dreaming Will'
enterprise. One early
sample of the prisoners'
work in this scheme at HMP
Pentonville - a two minute
film about the Listeners'
programme - a prisoner to
prisoner confidential
initiative originally
organised by The Samaritans
- made in but two sessions
by the inmates can be found
here. (Password:
LSWLISTENER - all caps)
Given
this set-up we ultimately
seek (ix) to provide scope -
where opportunity might
rightfully arise and be
deemed appropriate - for the
interested drama school
programmes themselves - or,
perhaps, with alumnae
outlets - to have a chance
to run even more
engaged/extended
programmes/projects with the
inmates in yet another
LINKED UP or LUPPED
celebration of the vital
sense of Community
celebrated both throughout
Shakespeare's canon as much
as in every meaningful
theatrical enterprise.
BUT ONE
PAST EXAMPLE
OF PRACTICAL LINKED UP WORKING
The
second production that LSW
did at HMP Pentonville
was of Shakespeare's
Scottish play. Libby
Purves wrote
a
review in The Times and
an original epilogue penned
by prisoner in a different
prison was recorded by RADA
President, Sir Kenneth
Branagh
here. (Password:
LSWEPILOGUE - all caps).
Dr. Wall made a 34
minute documentary which can
be viewed
here. (Password:
LSWKBAM - all caps.)
There is some fallout at the
beginning but it rapidly
passes and hopefully this
film can speak for itself
from both of its LINKED UP/LUPPED
ends as referenced above.
What
most assuredly does speak
are two notes from project
participants who had been
LINKED UP/LUPPED in LSW's
first extended adventure at
HMP Pentonville.
One from actor,
Peter Harding
“What an
incredible experience! I’ve
been trying to work out why it
was so emotional and other than
getting to know everyone in the
company very well – I think the
sheer gratitude of the chaps
from Pentonville was a privilege
to be part of. I never realised
just how powerful it can be to
give someone hope – I feel very
humbled by the whole
experience. This time stands on
its own. Nothing in my working
life, and not too much in my
personal one, comes close.”
The other from
inmate, Roy
“The
professionals and inmates alike
found themselves linked in a
friendship that many people
might not understand, as
witnessed by the tears which
flowed when we finally had to
part. I thought that this would
be a five-minute wonder, but for
the past few days we have all
found that we have been looking
for each other. Hours are spent
exploring the things that we
did, and many other inmates have
shared these experiences as they
listened and got caught up in
the enthusiasm and feelings of
all who were lucky enough to
take part. My one sadness is
for those hundreds of guys who,
for one reason or another, were
unable to participate.”
Make not
your thoughts your prisons. ...
Thought is Free.
This work is just so
damned heartening.
Dame Janet Suzman,
actor
We are
such stuff as dreams are made on.
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