Clean Break is a women’s theatre company which transforms lives in prison, on stage and in communities across the country.
Founded over 40 years ago by two pioneering women in prison, our charity’s vision is of a society where women can achieve their full potential, free from criminalisation. We pursue this through theatre: building women’s skills, creativity and wellbeing; producing ground-breaking productions; and advocating for wider engagement with women’s experiences; critical for positive change.
Our Members – women caught up in the criminal justice system or at risk of entering it – are at the heart of all our work. We invest in and nurture their voices, experience, expertise and aspirations. We create professional pathways for them as women often marginalised in the creative industries. All our work improves the confidence, resilience and wellbeing of Members on-site, women in prisons and in the community.
A nationally significant touring theatre company, we commission and co-produce to develop bold, explosive and provocative work that connects audiences with the hidden stories of women and criminal justice, often for the first time. In theatre and the wider cultural sector there is a continuing challenge to achieve genuine diversity on our stages and behind the scenes. Clean Break occupies a unique space and identity as a theatre company and has a vital role to play in this work, prioritising anti-racism in our structures and practices and creating theatre that inspires debate, deepens understanding and sparks compassion and action in audiences. We nurture and invest in underrepresented voices, employing and commissioning women who otherwise struggle to reach the stage.
We collaborate with artists, Members, criminal justice sector, theatre and beyond: our partners include specialist and frontline services, creative organisations, theatres, research/academic and advocacy organisations. We aim to be a leading force in our sectors and share our practice widely. We are committed to anti-racism, justice, inclusion and care in the running of our organisation and delivery of our work.