INSIDERS Comes to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

INSIDERS, a bold and emotional play created with Scottish prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic, is coming to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The show was first performed in November 2020 via live stream and went on to tour 11 of Scotland's 13 male prisons. Audience response was overwhelmingly positive, with 80% rating it ‘excellent.'

Insiders will be staged at the Fringe, offering insight into prison life and the education work of Bethany Christian Trust. The play sparks important conversations about imprisonment, the role of the arts, and the journey toward rehabilitation.
Set inside a prison, INSIDERS follows three very different men performed by Gary Sweeney, Neil Leiper and Sam Rowe. 

• Danny, battling anger and loneliness
• Craig, who finds strength in his new faith
• Richard, a middle-class newcomer who doesn't fit in

When tragedy strikes, each must re-examine who they are and what they believe. With powerful performances and original music, Insiders earned praise during their 2023 prison tour.

Bethany Christian Trust is a Scottish homelessness charity dedicated to ‘ending homelessness, one person at a time.' Its Creative Expressions department, launched in 2020, uses the arts to support people at higher risk of homelessness, including those affected by the criminal justice system.

Over the past five years, it has built a strong presence in and around Scotland's criminal justice system, running arts projects like participatory performances, touring theatre shows, and activities that help families connect through stories and crafts.

Sam Rowe, who leads Creative Expressions at Bethany, is a storyteller and theatre-maker focused on prison arts since 2016. His previous works include If These Spasms Could Speak (Director, 2013) and Denton and Me (Writer/Performer, 2016).
 

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