Carving a Space to be Human “In an Environment Designed to be Dehumanising.”
We spoke to Glasshouse Theatre co-founders Harriet Troup and Ella Church about the healing potential of theatre in navigating incarceration trauma, and how their own frontline experiences inside UK prisons sparked a mission to amplify the voices of those impacted by the criminal justice system.
Glasshouse Theatre Founders, Harriet Troup and Ella Church
Ella and Harriet’s paths first crossed at university, where their love of theatre and shared passion for social justice sowed the seeds for a lasting friendship. After graduating, they both knew that they wanted to pursue careers that would have a social impact – “like every well meaning millennial, post university.” Ella acknowledges with a smile.
“IT WASN’T ONLY OUR TRAUMA THAT WE WERE CARRYING, IT WAS ALL THE PEOPLE WE’D COME INTO CONTACT WITH. WE THOUGHT, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING WITH THIS INFORMATION.”
Unlike most well-meaning millennials, however, they decided to dive straight in at the deepest end – by securing jobs as prison officers. “We really wanted to understand the system in which we were going to be working. And we thought, what better way than to get some frontline experience?” Ella explains. “Then we got sucked into the system for a few years – we became rather wrapped up in it, and saw the extreme, extreme environment that is one of the worst systems that our country has to offer.”
When they eventually left their prison roles, they were both profoundly affected by the things they’d seen and been through – and each felt an acute sense of responsibility to speak up about their experiences. “It wasn't only our trauma that we were carrying, it was all the people we'd come into contact with. All the stories that we’ve seen and heard, all these people we’d interacted with. We thought, we have to do something with this information,” says Ella. “We've seen too much. And that’s when we established Glasshouse.”
So while Glasshouse was initially formed as a way to begin healing their own trauma through creative expression – they wrote an autobiographical play called ‘Cell Outs’ about their experiences, which they performed throughout the UK – it’s mission was propelled forward by a desire to centre the countless others with firsthand experiences of the criminal justice system. “We had so many people coming up to us at the shows – people who’d been in prison, people who’d worked in prison – telling us ‘I’ve never heard it be told in this way and I’d love the opportunity to do that too,’” Ella says, adding that giving the stage to people who have lived and worked in the prison system “is a way of celebrating those who’ve survived it.”
But, as Harriet notes, finding an intersection between two such different worlds – the criminal justice system and the arts – can be challenging. “It’s not that there aren't organisations doing incredible work in theatre and prisons. There are so many and they’re amazing, and we’ve been really lucky to collaborate with lots of them,” she says. “But what we felt passionately about was really supporting the people working in the prison sector, and the people living and incarcerated in the prison sector. That was a key foundation to how Glasshouse operates, and I think because of our own background, being both frontline and theatre based, it felt like it was right for us to formulate and establish the organisation ourselves, and make sure from day one that it was really a platform to champion others.”
In their time as prison officers, they’d already witnessed first-hand the transformative impact that drama and other forms of creative expression could have in the lives of incarcerated people. “You’d see people come back to the landing, having done theatre workshops, or storytelling or spoken word, and there was this new energy that they had,” recalls Ella. “That’s the difference it makes, to give people a space to be human and to be silly, and to be soft, in an environment that’s so dehumanising – that’s designed to be dehumanising.”
However they were rarely allowed to engage directly with that creativity and enjoyment in their capacity as staff, which they found to be a frustrating and helpless experience (especially because the incarcerated population was always requesting more). “As an officer, you do feel very left out of that,” says Ella. “You don't feel included in the creative journey of prisoners at all.”
“There's a huge amount of artistic output from prisons, and we're really interested in the fact that so many people find their creativity whilst they're incarcerated, or working in the prison system,” adds Harriet. Now, as the directors of Glasshouse, they finally have the chance to champion and platform this creativity themselves, through a wide variety of workshops, projects and theatre productions.
“We’re putting on variety nights with artists who are talking about reform and abolition in prisons, all of whom have been in prison themselves or worked in prison.” Says Harriet. “We’re staging productions that support people to use theatre to reclaim their narrative and understand their identity. Then alongside that, we also run workshops which deliver a similar practice. They're embedded in creativity and using drama and playfulness in games, and they support people to understand maybe what’s happened to them in the prison system, and to raise awareness about prisons.”
These workshops – all of which are trauma-informed – take place both inside and outside of prison settings, in schools and the community, and recently, with both incarcerated people and their families. “We run these big creative, imaginative days where families are able to visit for longer periods with their loved ones who are incarcerated,” Harriet explains. “There’s lots of young kids, and we’re able to come in and just bring a little bit of structure, a little bit of engagement that’s playful and imaginative, which allows parents who might not have that much contact with their kids to find new ways to engage with them.”
Sometimes the delivery can be as simple as hand puppets, or bucketloads of paint and glitter – and seeing parents go back to their cells with armfuls of lovingly made glitter-covered cards and macaroni pasta photo frames is often a highlight. “The dads always come and thank us afterwards, which is just a really lovely aspect of it,” smiles Ella.
“The impact of continuing family relationships whilst you're in prison is evidenced as being massive for reducing reoffending rates” Harriet adds. “And it's been lovely to hear from parents and families that it's been helpful for them to have some different ways to engage with their kids.”
For both Harriet and Ella, it’s this chance to nurture human relationships – and provide incarcerated people with a space to explore their own experiences and humanity – that makes the work they do through Glasshouse feel so worthwhile. “You get to see the immediate impact that these workshops or week-long projects have on people who, sometimes, have never been given an opportunity before to tell their stories or speak about their lives.” Says Ella. “They start the beginning of the week or session sometimes quite reserved, maybe not as willing to engage – and then by the end they’re wanting to be on stage, wanting to share their stories, making everyone laugh. And seeing that confidence boost and the beginning of understanding what it means to be human, and to make mistakes and recover from that as part of a group is, I mean,” she pauses momentarily, as if to gather her thoughts. Then she smiles. “It’s why I love doing our work so much.”
Glasshouse leverages theatre for social change within the Criminal Justice System. By uniting diverse communities, they use the power of creativity to conduct impactful workshops, produce thought-provoking theatre and foster dialogue.
Website: https://www.glasshousetheatre.co.uk
Instagram: @glasshousetheatre