EDINBURGH 2025: Review: INSIDERS, St John's Church

Insiders is a play that has been devised from the stories of fourteen Scottish prisoners, presented by the Bethany Christian Trust.

Set against the backdrop of St John’s Church, we meet three prisoners who are serving various lengths of sentences. Danny (Sam Rowe) is more than halfway through a life sentence and talks about the public perception of prisoners having an “easy” time of it in jail with games consoles in their cells. Whereas the reality is that with 22 hours a day on lockdown, that Xbox is the only thing keeping him together. 

Craig (Sean Connor) has addiction issues and OCD. With so much being out of his control, he channels his energy into making everything in his cell is arranged just so. Sean Connor strikes the perfect balance between an angry wee radge where you can see why he ended up incarcerated and a sensitive young man who loves his grandparents and his dog.

Richard (Garry Sweeney) is a middle-class man who feels very out of place in the prison and gets frustrated with listening to his cellmates blasting GBX at the weekend. 

What Insiders does is humanise these characters. While we are aware of their crimes, we get to see their more sensitive side and their reflections on why they are there. This is a gripping drama with brilliant performances from the three actors and accompanying musician Michael McMillan.

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