Penned up in a gut-punch prison comedy
- Alan Hulme
- Aug 8
- 1 min read
Described as a mix of the sitcoms Porridge and Brassed Off - both a comedy and a gut punch - Penned Up by award-winning playwright and director Danusia Iwaszko draws on her 15-plus years of experience teaching playwriting in prisons.
Welcome to HMP Ditchfield, where every week prisoner writing group members are challenged to write their own plays. From boxing rings to the Brazilian rainforest and painful pasts to wildly imaginative futures, the men discover theatre is more than words on a page; it’s a lifeline and a way to reclaim their voice. But when creativity clashes with control, tensions rise, secrets unravel, and laughter gives way to rebellion. Can words be the greatest escape?
Danusia's plays have been staged across the UK, Ireland and Australia. She is an artistic associate at the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds and was previously an attached writer at the National Theatre. She has taught playwriting in prisons for over 15 years and also works in communities, offering writing and drama workshops with the elderly, young people, the homeless, women in refuges and others with organisations such as Age UK, YMCA and Refuge.
Just setting out on a premiere UK tour, Penned Up's northern dates include the Pavillion Arts Centre in Buxton (September 25-26) and Blackpool Grand (September 29), as well as various prisons around the UK.
