Danusia Iwaszko is an amazing and inspirational person who is CEO of the charity The Hal Company which was formed in 2023 after delivering writing and drama workshops with a whole host of different groups.
She has inspired women in refuge, the homeless, folks recovering from substance abuse, the elderly and adults with special needs.
But possibly her biggest achievement has been working with prisoners for 17 years to challenge them to create characters and dialogue - instead of misery and mayhem - and ask the question - Could putting pen to paper be their ‘Great Escape’?
Danusia started to write Penned Up back in 2022 and clearly she has drawn on her own personal experience with the inmates that she worked with to produce this earthy, witty and thought-provoking play which is full of emotion and expression - and yes there is swearing and mild violence - but overall it’s a wonderful celebration of what channeling energies creatively can achieve.
Rebecca Peyton is the actress cast to play the real life Danusia on stage (her character is called Dorota) and I can only imagine it was as close to the real person as one could get. She has a strong, encouraging and quietly influential presence on stage and her class of six clearly enjoys their time with her.
That’s not to say that the class doesn’t have its issues. With six men from different backgrounds and religions, faith and ethnicities - there are bound to be clashes.
But with the strong guidance of Dorota as their mentor they all find themselves able to use their voice and their words to express themselves - a far cry from the fists, guns, drugs and violence of their previous lives.
We first learn the story of Ed (played by Liam Watson who was involved from the very start of the development of Penned Up) a young scouse lad who dreams of becoming a professional boxer, who bases his play on his personal aspirations yet still struggles inside with his violent relationship with his father.
Then there is Franky (Heydn McCabe) a highly likeable character straight out of the East End and who writes a beguiling and witty tale of a botched bank robbery and also reflects on the conflicting relationship he also had with his father.
There are two gay guys within the group - Mo (Shelley McDonald) a strict Muslim who has ended up behind bars for the killing of a pedestrian because he was text messaging while driving - and not, as Ed had assumed, because he was a terrorist. Mo is full of remorse and wants to write about child trafficking and Ed is clearly surprised that his preconceived notions of Mo are totally unfounded.
Ben (Ashton Owen) is our completely unabashed gay young man who is inside for drug dealing but has a huge passion for musicals and animals and deftly combines the two to make his own script come to life, and is the most engaging and entertaining of the group - so the joy among his friends when he gets his parole notice is palpable.
The final two inmates are Finlay (Geir Madland) an older Scottish chap who likes to challenge and make confrontation and clearly struggles with his own demons, and Jermaine (Ntabiso Bhebhe) a young black guy who has committed knife crimes but through writing about love has acknowledged the error of his ways and now just wants to write and put his past behind him.
One last important character is Mike, the prison guard, played brilliantly by Chris Clarkson.
Initially, Mike is extremely sceptical about the writing group and is very unsupportive, suggesting that most of the men are only there to escape their cells for a couple of hours and have no intention of writing anything worthwhile.
But when Mike is forced to sit in on the group (due to tensions fraying and a fight breaking out during one highly emotional session) he starts to learn that writing CAN be therapeutic and even pens his own play of UFOs and paranormal phenomena which he is unashamedly proud of.
This play is exceptional. It takes us metaphorically from Brazilian rainforests to the East End of London and then onto a remote Scottish island.
It takes our preconceived ideas of prisoners ability to use anything other than force and violence to get their point across.
But most of all it demonstrates how being part of a group that can share thoughts and emotions openly and honestly can also help to heal each other’s pasts and make their futures a better place.
A truly inspiring story, brilliantly written and beautifully acted - Penned Up definitely got the thumbs up from me.
