Page 31 - NewsandViews 2023 whole publication

2. Back Door Parole Stephen Feltman

Back Door Parole is the name given to a stunning play by the Journeyman Theatre.

The play is a one act storytelling of conversations between a lifetime prisoner and a prison quaker
chaplain. It was interspersed with soliloquies from each of them. The name of the play derives from the
observation that the way of achieving parole for IPP prisoners (more later), is by dying. i.e. leaving prison
by the back door.

IPP prisoners are those imprisoned for a second time for the same offence. Sentences in these cases of
"Imprisonment for Public Protection" are no longer applied by the courts and the play makes clear that
there is no governmental initiative or will to address this outstanding but historical situation. The play
suggests that there are over 3000 IPP prisoners retained at the moment, but in fact, a Google search
indicates that as of 30th June 2021 there were 1722. This figure is 2 years old and it is likely that there are
even less now as it was a diminishing trend up to that time. One therefore needs to be cognisant that
whilst theatre can be a wonderful ministry and able to make an massive emotional impact upon one, it
may also distort, even unintentionally, and present historical facts as current, and this could be
misleading. Nonetheless the human misery and despair experienced by some IPP prisoners, some after
several decades of confinement, can be excruciatingly painful, so one could make the point that even one
IPP prisoner after so very long in confinement is, in all probability, in no need of imprisonment for public
protection.

A case very well made by the play was the experience of prisoner Ron who, suffering from arthritis as he
was, experienced extreme difficulty in climbing the stairs to his cell on the third floor of the prison. He
was forced to choose between a hospital scan and a parole board hearing when both events clashed on
the same day. In fact he was able to access neither because, having chosen the hospital scan, was unable
to undergo the procedure because the prison warder was unwilling (because the rules forbade it), to
remove Ron's handcuffs for the scan (which the wearing of them would have damaged the scanning
equipment), so the hospital could not proceed. It was a terrible frustration and disappointment and this
one anecdote alone was sufficient to move the audience to great heights of compassion. Sadly, the play
shows that Ron died in prison.

What was really impactful about this brilliantly enacted play was the emotional stimulus it gave to the
audience. It was a masterpiece of delivery and there were many audience members amongst the 45
present (including 10 from Locks Heath Southampton meeting and others from Hythe and Poole), that
were moved to tears (myself included), by the powerful portrayal of Lynn and Dave Morris of Journeyman
Theatre.

Such was the power of the play that £400 was collected at the end from audience members towards
RECOOP, a charity supporting older prisoners. Please visit https://www.recoop.org.uk/ which is based
locally at Alder Hills in Poole.

This play, as intended, was far from being an afternoon's entertainment. It was a ministry of a powerful
kind and served to highlight the situation of elderly prisoners locked up in their later years. The play
stimulated much conversation and debate afterwards and the Meeting House social room was buzzing
with an air of animated engagement with the topic of long term elderly prisoner concern. The meeting for
worship the following Sunday again was dominated by ministry and thoughts arising from the very
excellent play Back Door Parole. (cont.)

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