Clean Break offers a vibrant programme of leadership training, professional development, lectures and participatory workshops built up over four decades of working with women in the criminal justice system. Through our training and events programme we aim to share our methodology as women practitioners and theatre artists and support others working in the women’s sector, criminal justice and theatre to achieve greater outcomes in their practice.
We also aim to provide unique opportunities for the women we work with to play a central role in this area of our work, and for their skills to be developed and their voices heard at a practice and policy level. In this way, all our training and events involve our Members (women with experience of the criminal justice system and women at risk of entering it) in the design and delivery stages.
Over the past thirty years we have delivered our unique training to the police, probation and prison staff, the Parole Board, women’s voluntary sector and theatre industry. We have huge experience of tailoring our training to meet the needs of specific organisations, e.g. through a focus on mental health, trauma informed practice or challenging behaviour.
Feedback from our training participants has shown that they have found our methodology engaging and inspirational, providing new skills, tools and techniques to deepen their work. Consistently, professionals working in criminal justice report that the training brings into sharp focus the human beings behind their caseloads and re-ignites their passion for their work.
Training deepens practitioners’ understanding and knowledge of women’s needs and reinforces the value of a gender-specific, trauma-informed approach. This training offer incorporates short plays, written by our commissioned writers and performed by Clean Break Members, ensuring a powerful and dynamic experience for participants.
We are currently offering a 60-90 minute session based around the performance of HEAR, a short play written by one of our commissioned writers, Deborah Bruce, following a theatre residency in a women’s prison in 2017. HEAR has been performed at House of Lords, Ministry of Justice, National Audit Office and National Theatre.
This two-hander gives the audience an insight into the feelings and experiences of women in the criminal justice system, and highlights for professionals, the importance of working alongside women, listening to their needs and involving them in solutions. Following the performance, a facilitated discussion is tailored to each audience, engaging groups in themes ranging from gender equality in the criminal justice system to the role of punishment in desistance or what role for the arts in rehabilitation.
The session concludes with a Q&A with Clean Break Members, who share their own personal experiences of both routes into and out of crime.
A performance of HEAR and an accompanying workshop costs £1,200 plus VAT.
A block booking can be offered at a discounted rate.
For further information please contact Anna Herrmann, Joint Artistic Director at Clean Break: anna.herrmann@cleanbreak.org.uk | 0207 482 8618
