Inside the walls of HMP Drummond, Baxter, Norton and Lenny pass the time with poker, banter, and the kind of gallows, humour only lifers can muster. When Lenny’s body starts to give out, prison officer Mark keeps an eye on him. What begins as a duty of care slowly becomes an unexpected friendship, exposing the cracks in a system built to punish, not to support. Darkly funny and unflinchingly honest, Lifers challenges what we think we know about crime, punishment, and redemption. Do some crimes make a second chance impossible? And when the world moves on without you, what does justice really mean?
This superbly written piece of theatre takes you behind the walls of the prison and lets you see life inside the prison from both a job perspective and an inmate perspective. Using an older and more jaded prison medical officer and a younger raw more idealistic guard opposite the “lifers” inmates is a great foundation for the dramaturg. The story has twists and turns I didn’t see coming and also exposes the challenges and harsh reality of life inside for all concerned – both the staff and the prisoners.
Mixing humour in to soften the reality never diminishes how tough life is. With great acting from all but have to mention that the lead, Peter Wight, was totally believable in his role and James Backway showed so much that he had me choked at times.
The Set was brilliant! A suspended ceiling brought the performance space in to help us feel trapped inside a cage, removing the otherwise vast vaulted ceiling. The slats of this ceiling used to fantastic effect by the lighting designer to create bars of light across the performance space so you see real shadows as if in a jail cell rather than a projected gobo pattern from a lighting fixture. The small moving wash lights so subtly used to always bring focus to the action while reducing the light where it’s not needed so there’s never just a white wash across the stage to maintain the eerieness and the sense that you don’t know what might be happening around the corner. You rarely see lighting design of this quality!
The sound design clearly delineated the mood changes between each scene giving an out and an intro description. This helped cover the movements of the staging blocks around by the cast – something that sings “fringe” that I’m not a fan of. However, this is easily over-looked when the show is so good.
It would be impossible to watch this production and not be moved by it. The story continues in your mind long after the show’s finished. It doesn’t deliver answers to problems and doesn’t sugar-coat anyone. My opinion on characters and their situation changed several times while watching this production.
Please go see this – if you love West End theatre this might convert you to a preference for Fringe!
Cast
Peter Wight
James Backway
Sam Cox
Ricky Fearon
Mona Goodwin
LIFERS
by Evan Placey
Director Esther Baker
Designer Katy McPhee
Costume Designer is Stella Cecil
Lighting Designer Tony Simpson
Sound Designer Sarah Weltman
Dramaturgy by Neil Grutchfield
Wednesday 1st to Saturday 25th October
at Southwark Playhouse Borough (The Large)
Join the creative team behind Lifers for a post-show discussion exploring the making of the production, the themes of ageing, justice and incarceration, and the real-life experiences that shaped the story.
Monday 20 October – Panel discussion: Can dignity survive a life sentence?
Join us for a post show panel discussion with criminal justice system experts. Drawing on lived and professional experience, the panel will explore the realities of ageing in prison, the challenges facing long-term prisoners, and what care, justice, and rehabilitation should look like.
Southwark Playhouse
Southwark Playhouse is a registered charity that delivers a year-round programme of entertaining and enriching work. Southwark Playhouse operates two separate venues ‘Southwark Playhouse Borough’ and its newest theatre ‘Southwark Playhouse Elephant’ which opened in January 2023. Southwark Playhouse has always prided itself in telling stories and inspiring the next generation of storytellers and theatre makers, where support for the community has been rooted at the core of the organisation.
Website: southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
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