Theatre that is more than just something to watch. Woodhill is the start of the conversation, and it is our job to make sure everyone hears it.Rating
Unmissable!
When should a review become political? Shouldn’t a review be about the show and why you should or shouldn’t get along to see it? Surely a review is not the place to rant about the state of our prisons? But when that show is Woodhill, a show about HMP Woodhill and the wider issues of our failing penal system, how can a review possibly avoid the politics that the show addresses?
Lung Theatre has a catalogue of productions about important social issues, and Woodhill is no different. What they also do so well is present those issues in unexpected formats. Having previously tackled the care system as a musical, now their gaze at a failing justice system is via the medium of dance! Why? Well, maybe the question should be more ‘why not?’ Because when it is done this powerfully, it all becomes so perfectly obvious.
We start with three dancers in a space that looks like a storeroom, boxes filling the shelves; boxes you assume are stuffed full of prisoner records, reducing the people to numbers, dates and cold facts, without any of the humanity that a person deserves. The trio move in a strained and jolted fashion, the anxiety and stress of the prison system so clearly weighing them down. But these aren’t prisoners; they are family members of those incarcerated, those who have been failed by the system, those who have taken their own lives when held at His Majesty’s pleasure. And as the three move in such painful ways, a fourth performer appears, sprinkling dust around them, moving in and out of the space at first, until later becoming the centre of attention.
While we watch, we also listen. Recorded voices read the verbatim words of those affected by the prison system. We hear from family and loved ones, the emotion and anger clear in their speech. But we also hear from those involved professionally: prison guards, social workers, judges, even Lords who have taken an interest in prisons. The words are powerful, at times heart-breaking, as they talk of suicide and yet another wasted and lost life treated as just another statistic to be filed away in another box. But most importantly, names are spoken aloud, proving these people were individuals; more than the statistics and more than the dehumanising prison number they were given.
Woodhill leaves me angry, frustrated, almost feeling helpless about a system that seems so removed it can never change. But maybe that is the aim, to then direct our anger to good use. It needs to be used to help amplify the conversation, to help Lung Theatre in their ongoing campaign, to make it clear that change is needed, and that change is possible.
As we leave the show, there is material available in the bar for that very purpose. The show itself may be playing to those already converted to the cause, but it is our role now to take its message further. Sometimes theatre transcends the simple act of watching; sometimes it is so much more important. I challenge anyone to watch Woodhill and not want to see the whole system torn down. At a time when we are debating building more prison cells, shouldn’t we instead be asking how we send fewer young men to prison in the first place?
You can find out more about Lung Theatre’s campaigning and how to get involved here.
Written & Directed By Matt Woodhead
Dramaturgy By Helen Monks
Choreography By Alexzandra Sarmiento
Set & Costume Design By Lulu Tam
Lighting Design By Will Monks
Sound Design & Additional Composition By Owen Crouch
Composed By Sami El-Enany
Mix & Additional Music Production By Nic Neil
Assistant Producer: Johanna Brown
Production Manager: Sarah Barton
Technical Stage Manager: Jay Hirst
Woodhill is now touring the UK until Saturday 28 November
