The Claims of Prison Shakespeare

Abstract

In Chapter 2 we observed a number of similarities among Prison Shakespeare programmes, as well as a number of parameters of variation. What is remarkable is the consistency of the claims made by practitioners and proponents of Prison Shakespeare projects across the board. These claims fall into several key groups: benefit to individual prisoners, benefit to artists, impact on prison culture, impact on the broader community, challenges for programmes and risks of programmes. Some are better described than others, with the question of programmes’ benefits to the individual prisoners who participate in them being the most widely discussed.