Penned Up, a new play by award-winning playwright Danusia Iwaszko, is coming to the Pavilion Arts Centre in Buxton on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 September at 7.30pm, as part of a world premiere UK tour which also visits prisons including HMP Hollesley Bay and HMP Highpoint. Drawing on Danusia’s 15+ years of experience teaching playwriting in prisons, Penned Up offers an unflinching look at life inside.
Think Porridge meets Brassed Off – a laugh riot and a gut-punch in equal measure. Witty, raw and full of heart, Penned Up is a powerful celebration of storytelling, second chances and the unexpected bonds that form behind bars.
Welcome to HMP Ditchfield, where every week a group of prisoners are challenged to write their own plays. From boxing rings to the Brazilian rainforest, from painful pasts to wildly imaginative futures, these men discover that theatre is more than words on a page – it’s a lifeline, a way to reclaim their voices. But when creativity clashes with control, tensions rise, secrets unravel, and laughter gives way to rebellion. Can words be the greatest escape?
To book tickets visit:buxtonoperahouse.org.uk/event/
