Review: Penned Up
Penned Up is a brand-new play that is touring the area this Autumn
Written by award winning playwright Danusia Iwaszko who draws on her experience of teaching playwrighting in prisons, Penned Up gives the audience an insight into prison life and the real-life experiences of the men behind bars.
Fictional prison HMP Ditchfield is the setting where every week a group of convicts meet with their tutor Dorota for a lesson in the arts. They are challenged to write their own plays, drawing from their own experiences. As the weeks pass the group become closer, friendships are formed, and the men discover that what starts as words on a page, becomes a vehicle for their voices to be heard.
As the group become more confident in their writing, we are transported from the Brazilian rainforest, to the boxing ring. Reliving painful pasts, misunderstandings and secrets.
Over the weeks the plays are written, ready to be performed at the prison by real actors, well one of them was once in Eastenders!
Penned Up is a beautiful piece of theatre. Wonderfully cast with believable characters portraying a group of men that would never have met had they not been convicted for their crimes. Tensions may rise and heated debates happen, but there is joy and laughter along the way.
Penned Up tackles sensitive subjects well, with just the right amount of light and shade. It’s laugh out loud funny at times, however the brilliant writing of this piece allows the audience to feel the emotion of the characters too.
This production makes for a very enjoyable visit to the theatre, tackling the subject in a fabulous way.
We laughed, we cried and just like tutor Dorota, we were sad to say goodbye the prisoners at the end of their playwrighting course…
Penned Up will be at the New Wolsey Theatre on 16th and 17th September. To book tickets visit www.wolseytheatre.co.uk
And the Sudbury Quay Theatre on 20th September, to book visit www.quaysudbury.com
Review Wendy Cook, Ipswich24 Magazine – who watched Penned Up at Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds.
Picture Luke Witcomb