Lifers

★★★★ ‘Poignant, honest and affecting’ The Stage
★★★★ ‘A refreshing, hilariously honest play’ London Theatre Reviews
★★★★ ‘Beautifully written and acted’ Broadway World
★★★★ ‘Peter Wight plays Lenny terrifically’ Broadway Baby
★★★★ ‘Thoroughly researched and authentic’ Adventures in Theatreland
★★★★ ‘Meticulously crafted and rich in dark humour’ Everything Theatre
★★★★ ‘Powerful, authoritative acting’ London Theatre 1
★★★★ ‘Esther Baker’s direction creates tension and empathy in equal measure ‘ Lou Reviews

Inside the walls of HMP Drummond, Baxter, Norton and Lenny pass the time with poker, banter, and the kind of gallows humour only lifers can muster. 

When Lenny’s body starts to give out, young prison officer Mark keeps an eye on him. What begins as a duty of care becomes an unexpected friendship, exposing the cracks in a system built to punish, not to support.

Darkly funny and unflinchingly honest, Lifers challenges what we think we know about crime, punishment, and redemption. Do some crimes make a second chance impossible? And when the world moves on without you, what does justice really mean?

A compelling look at ageing, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

1 – 25 OCTOBER
SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE (BOROUGH)
BOOK NOW

Post-Show Events
(free to attend with a ticket to that evening’s performance)

Mon 13 Oct – Q&A with Synergy cast and creatives
Join the cast and creative team behind Lifers for a post-show discussion exploring the making of the production, the themes of ageing, justice and incarceration, and the real-life experiences that shaped the story.

Mon 20 Oct– Panel discussion: Can dignity survive a life sentence?
Join us for a post-show panel discussion with criminal justice system experts. Drawing on lived and professional experience, the panel will explore the realities of ageing in prison, and what care, justice, and rehabilitation should look like.

The panel includes:

• Lynn Saunders OBE (Professor of Applied Criminology, Derby University, and former Governor, HMP Whatton)
• Simon Scott (Head of Business Development, User Voice, serving a life sentence on licence)
• Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.) Chief Executive, Howard League for Penal Reform
• Paul Grainge (CEO, Recoop)