Clean Break is a women's theatre company based in London, focused on telling the stories of imprisoned women.
Clean Break was started in 1979 by prisoners at HMP Askham Grange, [1] who expanded the prison's annual Christmas show into Efemera, a two-hour show about prison life. It was later performed for a two-night run at York Arts Centre, which made its 21 cast members the first British prisoners to perform onstage outside of a prison. [2] Upon their release, founders Jenny Hicks and Jackie Holboroug formed the theatre company, Clean Break, in order to tell the stories of women in prison. [3] [4] Prison reformer and former offender Chris Tchaikovsky wrote the play The Easter Egg for Clean Break, which was produced at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1985. [5]
In 1998 the company moved from its base in Camden to a refurbished building in Kentish Town. [6] [7]
Productions include Sam Holcroft's Dancing Bears at the Soho Theatre, [8] Little on the inside by Alice Birch at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014, [9] and Pests by Vivienne Franzmann (a co-production with Royal Court Theatre and Royal Exchange Theatre).[ citation needed ]
[BLANK], a play by Alice Birch, premiered at the Donmar Warehouse in October 2019. [10]
In 2019 Inside Bitch was performed at Theatre Upstairs at The Royal Court Theatre. [11]
In 2021, Typical Girls by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm ran at Sheffield Theatres, [12] and in 2022 Favour by Ambreen Razia premiered at Bush Theatre. [13]
Clean Break's first co-production with the National Theatre, Dixon and Daughters by Deborah Bruce, premiered in April 2023. [14]
The company also organises residencies in women's prisons in the UK, using directors, playwrights, and actors to work with women in prison to create their own work.[ citation needed ]
The playwright Lucy Kirkwood was writer in residence at Clean Break in 2015. [15]
Clean Break trustee Alice Millest was named Young Board Member of the Year at the 2014 Arts & Business Awards. [16]
Clean Break were shortlisted for the Guardian Charity of the Year Awards in 2014 [7] and received a Highly Commended Award from the Longford Trust. [17]