OutWrite

Obviously taking their community participation remit seriously, the Traverse has been working with Her Majesty’s Young Offenders Institution Polmont on OutWrite, on a fascinating playwriting collaboration. Alongside award-winning playwright Alan Wilkins (Carthage Must Be Destroyed, The Nest) and specialist drama worker Suzie Aitken young men have devised and written their own short plays.

A creative team of professional actors and directors visited HMYOI Polmont to continue the development and rehearse the plays, which will find their way to the Traverse in December. Noelle O'Donoghue explained further...

Is this the first time the Traverse has realised a writing project in prison?

Yes, this is the pilot of OutWrite, a project that we hope to continue and expand into other Scottish prisons over the next three years.

Why did you decide to carry it out in Polmont Young Offender’s Institution?

As part of the Traverse’s learning strategy we were looking to expand our work with young people, to those outwith the formal education system and young people at risk (our annual playwriting project Class Act has been working with young people in schools is now in its 19th year). Kenny MacAskill, the justice minister, came to watch one of our Class Act performances and asked us about the possibility of developing a similar project in prisons. We decided to try the project at Polmont first as we felt that it was a place where it might have a real benefit, as many of the young men in Polmont have lost their ‘right-to-reply’. By giving them the chance to develop their creative voices we hope that their self-esteem, confidence and collaborative skills will be improved.

Who influenced the project and whose idea was it?

The project follows a similar structure to Class Act except it involved a drama element at the beginning of the project. I worked with Kirsten Sams (Manager, Offender Learning, Skills and Employability Services at Motherwell College. Motherwell College runs the learning centres in a number of Scottish prisons; Carnegie College run the rest) to develop a project structure that would work in the prison environment. Elements such as length of session, regularity of session and the performance element to the project all had to be carefully worked out.

How many inmates will take part in the project and how did you decide which of them will participate in it?

Education is non-compulsory in prisons so before the project started the education team at HMYOI Polmont put up posters and talked to prisoners about the project. We have six extremely dedicated young men in our group. Initially we would have liked 8-10, however education competes with many things in prison including jobs, visits and other initiatives. Since the project has started everyone has joked that we have a captive audience but actually, because these young men have so much going on in their day-to-day lives, we have had to work hard to develop a group dynamic that makes them want to come back each week.

What material will the final performance be based on and who will take part in it?

Each of the six prisoners in the group has written their own 10 minute play (they are allowed to write about any topic with the exception of their own crimes as we do not want this project to glorify their crimes). All six of these plays will be performed by professional actors and directed by professional directors. We are treating each of the young men in the same way as we would a professional Traverse writer meaning that they will be present throughout the rehearsals and they will work with the creative team to realise their plays on stage. They also had a script development session with actors and a director during their writing process.

How does the project fit in the artistic vision of the Traverse?

The Traverse has a well-established reputation for achieving high quality work in its learning and outreach activities and in all cases those working on the project are experienced professional industry practitioners. Our artistic programme attracts a varied audience. OutWrite is a fantastic opportunity to engage with a group of young people outwith the formal education system who have had no experience of the Traverse (or any other theatres). OutWrite is part of a strategic plan to expand the Traverse’s work with and for young people. This expansion will be reflected in the Traverse's artistic programme.