WOODHILL to Return to Edinburgh Fringe
WOODHILL, written and directed by Matt Woodhead, will play ZOO Southside before an autumn UK tour.
LUNG will present Woodhill, a state-of-the-nation look at the UK's prison system made with bereaved families. Written and Directed by Matt Woodhead, performances will run at ZOO Southside, 7 – 30 August.
Drawn from the first-hand testimonies of three families who lost loved ones to suicide at HMP Woodhill and others with experience of the system, Woodhill is a dance theatre work that weaves those verbatim accounts voiced by actors through with dynamic choreography to expose the negligence and injustice embedded within the system. Timelier than everdue to the prison's continued decline – as officially acknowledged by the Ministry of Justice in April 2026 – the piece forces us to confront the value placed on the lives of those behind bars centring three families who refuse to stop asking how and why their loved ones died and demanding change.
HM Prison Woodhill is a Category B male prison located in Milton Keynes which opened in 1992. It has beenrepeatedly criticised by families, coroners, inquest juries, the prison and probation ombudsman and various review reports for staff shortages, insufficient staff training and poor inmate support. It has one of the highest suicide rates in the UK and coroners' reports have noted the jail has repeatedly failed to meet requirements of national policy on suicide and emergency response. In March, the prison was served with its second urgent notification in three years which the Ministry of Justice responded to with new safety and security measures.
Originally co-produced with The North Wall in Oxford, the show premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2023 to great critical acclaim, winning multiple awards including the Change Makers Award from the Sheila McKechnie Foundation and the Arts, Culture and Heritage award at The Charity Awards. LUNG's ongoing campaign work alongside the Woodhill Families directly inspired the decision to bring the show back on tour in response to the prison's continued decline, with both calling on Prisons Minister James Timpson for a meeting to address systematic change, including the Woodhill Commitments that prioritise suicide prevention.
The Woodhill Families said ‘Our boys needed help, not punishment. They were given a prison sentence that turned into a death sentence. There is a crisis unfolding in our prisons. We are proud to be taking our story across the country and launching this national campaign. We will not stop until our voices are heard'
Matt Woodhead, Co-Director of LUNG said ‘For our families, it is heartbreaking to read that rates of self harm are still the highest in the adult male estate. The government's response does not address this in any way. What action is being taken to keep these men in prison safe?'
Helen Monks, Co-Director, LUNG said 'Woodhill began as a tribute to those who have taken their lives at HMP Woodhill. Now, it has become a call for accountability. The urgent notification shows this crisis isn't history - it's happening now. We owe it to these families to keep the conversation alive.'
Founded in Barnsley in 2014, LUNG is a campaign led arts charity working UK wide to make hidden voices heard. They create work that shines a light on political, social and economic issues in modern Britain, using people's words in their stories. Their previous acclaimed productions include Trojan Horse (now on the AQA Curriculum) about teachers and governors who were falsely accused of instigating a plot to takeover Birmingham schools which won the Fringe First Award in 2018 at the Edinburgh Fringe as well as The Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, and The Children's Inquiry, which looked at the children's care system in the UK and won a Sky Arts Award. They are currently Company in Residence with The National Theatre and partners with Lowry in Salford.
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