Workshops Hollesley Bay Prison delivered for The Hal Company by Synergy Theatre Project.
Project name:
Intro to Playwriting
Period:
Oct-Nov 2025
What:
A 10-session Intro to Playwriting course at HMP Hollesley Bay, a D Category prison in Ipswich.
Who:
The course was led by Maddy Moore. There were 12 participants who started the course and 11 participants who submitted plays for the final sharing. The final sharing was attended by 50+ prisoners and staff, including the governor. Participants were between 20-64 years old.
Impact:
100% of participants agreed that they enjoyed the project
100% felt that they had learnt useful skills
100% felt they were able to express ideas in new ways
100% felt optimistic about the future
100% reported they were likely to pursue future goals
100% said that they would engage in future creative activities
How did it go?
At first, I didn’t know what to expect and didn’t know what my play was going to be about, as I did not know how to start the script. But it was when we were given random pictures, portraits of people, paintings, scenarios, that the idea sparked and I finally had a convicting idea of what my play would be about. The teacher was energetic. They had a positive, upbeat attitude, which became infectious to the rest of us. They set the standard and inspired me to give my best, even when on some days I didn’t feel my best. The teacher would ask everyone in the group how we felt, but most importantly, they would also take part and express how they felt. This allowed me to trust them as a teacher. I believe building trust is very important when mentoring others. Even when people didn’t feel like taking part, the teacher encouraged us to engage, never making us feel that we were not acknowledged. This was important, because without the group knowing our self-worth whilst in prison, people’s mental health can suffer. Our teacher was also patient – It was great to know that I had a teacher that was willing to listen to my ideas and challenge them. Doing these two things made me feel that she was interested in my work and willing to understand my thought process and ideas.
As well as the teacher being very creative herself, and with all these qualities she displayed - it made me in return to feeling confident in sharing my creative ideas and trusting her to guide me to finish my writing. Something that I can honestly say I am proud of.
On the last session, when the actors came in to act out our scripts, we had all written, I felt honoured that professional actors were doing this. I felt like I was a famous writer/producer, like Spike Lee - going to see the revealing of his own movie in the Cinema among strangers, looking out for their reaction. Seeing my script manifested by the acting in front of me, it pulled on my heartstrings because they acted it as I imagined it. And I could hear that throughout my play the room was silent, enough to know that the audience was hooked.
I also got a lot of positive feedback by those who watched it, even weeks later after the event, and seeing the play acted out reminded me to remember who I am and that despite being in prison I should always aim to inspire, encourage, and empower people through my character skills and my gifts.