Barlinnie Creative interventions
As its Theatre Nemo's 20th anniversary this year we thought it fitting to show some past work
Report on Theatre Nemo Conference in partnership with the Butler Trust and HMP Barlinnie Prison.
Theatre Nemo's conference in the Scottish Youth Theatre on Thursday 7th February 2009 was a great success with over 80 people attending. There were two performances by the Barlinnie cast, theatre workshops and authoritative speakers.
Andrew McKellan, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons said, “I was hugely impressed at the conference by the very creative approach Theatre Nemo adopts in supporting people with mental health problems. I had been made aware sometime ago of the positive impact this work is having on prisoners in HMP Barlinnie. My hope would be that the work may be extended to other establishments on a regular basis.”
Theatre NEMO wanted the conference to be about experiencing their work and this was done in three ways; firstly there was two theatre pieces performed by the Barlinnie cast. For those who have not experienced a performance before it is an eerie experience. The internal voices of the cast are spoken aloud, denoting suffering, rejection, isolation and mental/physical pain; what should never be expressed by the norms of society is expressed and to very good affect. We are told the very thoughts and feelings of the cast. It is impossible not to be drawn to them, to feel compassion and to humanise individuals who are otherwise non-entities as far as society goes.
To realise that this work is therapeutic brings further appeal. Individuals are re-empowered; their demons are admonished, friendship and hope returns. In a barren and stark environment of a prison, people are starved of scenery, experience, sensation, love and meaning. In these play pieces the clients are re-awakened to their own internal humanity and this brings healing and re- assertion of the self. The persona comes back, shame and despair are pushed aside, individuals are able to function better in their self-worth. There is a re-awaking to what is good and meaningful in life. Rehabilitation - the purported aim of society in imprisoning people, is surprisingly achieved. A simple mechanism - a play - brings great results.
Along with the plays there were the workshops, a surprise and interest for everyone. Theatre Nemo wanted people to experience the process that people go through in their theatre workshops. Not that we can match the deprivation of prisoners, nor the conflict of conscience or perhaps the turbulent social life they come from, but we could imagine what a help this could be to the individual in such deprived circumstances. There were five theatre workshops: empowerment, visual art, drama, trust and team work, and storytelling. I attended two of them as did everyone else.
My first choice was story telling run by Lesley O?Brian and Allison Galbraith. The story was you; nothing else. Recounting a period in one?s life chosen at random, told to a stranger. Reaction and response were very positive, accessing the past maybe before a darker time, or in a dark time, could shed light, bring peace, deal with pain. What could be a useful skill to have for
someone coping with the past, trying to build a more positive future, learn from past mistakes. Following the story, telling we told another tale, this time interacting with everyone in the group. We drew a figure on a sheet of paper, some elaborate some less so and we pinned it to our backs where we could not see who or what was being said about the figure. My overweight snowman drew comments such as ?tough love?, ?diet? and ?happy?. It was impossible not to realise that the figure had associations to the person and a truth about oneself was revealed in a very gentle and humours way.
The second workshop I attended was run by Hugh McCue and this was ?trust and teamwork?. After taking off our shoes we walked at increasing speeds around the room. Then we joined by the end of one finger held out to another?s finger; one person was blind the other led. There was self-conscious giggles and laughter but we had to keep relying on the person leading us; perhaps a kind of metaphor to life. After this, we increased the sense of this relationship by guiding someone blind around the room with pats to their left or right, or both hands – stop. More trust was needed, more sensitivity and awareness. We were communicating in a new way, one that we were not used to. The end part of this workshop, we formed a tight circle with room for one person in the middle. That person had to remain straight, whilst they were fielded around the circle in any direction. A bit like a rocking doll with human hands to support and push back to the middle. This demanded more trust than we had yet given and to begin with we were tentative and un-relaxed. When one did trust, there was great enjoyment in this manner of being handled.
Two very effective speeches were delivered alongside the other activities. The first speech was John McCaig, HM Deputy Chief Inspector of prisons, a former Deputy Governor of HMP Barlinnie and a major help in introducing Theatre Nemo to the prison. His topic was ?the context of creativity in custody?.
“In depriving someone of their freedom most will suffer from mental ill health. We are not doing enough positive work and our way forward is to develop a multi-faceted change programme, and to make a success of intervention. Behind the fa?ade of prisoners it is impossible not to be moved. Recognising a situation is itself uplifting. How do you value an improvement in self-esteem? This type of work done by Theatre Nemo compliments other mental health intervention. Theatre Nemo has a development plan and life coaching to provide community justice. Lady Smith, a high court judge, said: “punishment should not diminish hope”. Theatre Nemo brings about positive thinking and an opportunity to change”.
In the afternoon, James Taylor, the Mental Health Strategy Co-ordinator for the SPS gave his perspective on using arts within the prison and community environment:
“In society 1:4 people have mental health difficulties, 1:6 can experience a neurotic disorder and 4% of the population suffers from psychosis. But
among prisoners up to 90% prisoners suffer from a mental health disorder whilst the incidence of psychosis is twenty times more likely. Over the last fifteen years we have seen a rise in prevalence across the spectre validating Penrose Law (1936); ?that there is an inverse relationship between the number and availability of mental health hospital beds and prison numbers.?
Stigma and discrimination are given to those who do not conform to an expressed societal norm has long existed. But in society there is an added discrimination of having an offending history. Prison should still have an underlying belief in dignity and worth of the person and to be helped towards a sense of the opportunity available to them for personal development. We need to counter a negative view of individualistic causation of illness; that is the person is to blame for being mentally unwell. For many of the prison population most of their life experience has been psychologically noxious.
What we need is Community Artivism – the development of the creative and performing arts by people who experience injustice and seeking to challenge social causes of problems in the community. There are four components; the delivery of mutual aid, an access to popular education, the ability to challenge and change society. This encourages skill development, confidence, sharing meaningfully and tackle discrimination. This leads to the promotion of individual self worth and overcoming others unhelpful values. For the SPS the goal is to incorporate a person centred approach to meeting needs and to help develop practices of self management, leading to individual recovery and societal change.”
Thank you, Hugo Butts Writer
https://youtu.be/GguHdEmEDVw
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