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Welcome to the Clean Break Knowledge Hub, where you can discover more about our work on stage, in prisons and in the community.

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Pearl Mackie as Baby, wearing a yellow fur coat

Pearl Mackie on Her Role as Baby

Actor Pearl Mackie talks about playing the lead in our one-woman co-production with Brixton House, written by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti
Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti sat in a theatre

Meet our Playwrights: Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti shares how the Clean Break commissioning process compelled her to write Baby, and what she wants audiences to take away from her work

Spotlight on...
Black History Month

Natasha Bucknor MBE

Black History Month: Honouring Community Leaders with Executive Director Natasha Bucknor MBE

Clean Break's Executive Director explores the 2026 Black History Month theme of 'Honouring our Communities', sharing reflections on the spaces and people she's found community in
a still from Buddleia: the unchained story

10 Stories by Black Artists That Reclaim the Narrative

Clean Break's Associate Artistic Director Lakesha Arie-Angelo shares her picks from stage and screen for Black History Month
a portrait of Somebody Jones

Meet Our Playwrights: Somebody Jones

Somebody shares the story behind her name, what it's like writing at Clean Break, and her thoughts on this year's Black History Month theme
Emma Dennis-Edwards

Sisterhood and Storytelling with Playwright Emma Dennis-Edwards

An interview with Clean Break commissioned playwright Emma Dennis-Edwards
a photo of a woman performing to a mirror at Clean Break

Actions not Words: anti-racism consultancy with darvaja

Anti-racism consultants darvaja in conversation with Clean Break
Nubian Co-hearts laughing together

Wisdom and Laughter with Nubian CoheARTs

Interview with Nubian CoheARTs, a Black women led theatre company
Still from Buddleia: The Unchained Story

Buddleia: Clean Break Member Review

Member Pepe shares her interpretation of the film Buddleia: The Unchained Story

Spotlight on...
Clean Break Artistic Work

Claire Bayley in Scenes from Lost Mothers clip

Watch: Clip from Scenes from Lost Mothers

Claire Bayley performs a scene from Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's play about motherhood and imprisonment
Lead still for Clean Break film, Hope

Hope

A film from Clean Break
An illustration of 6 magical women in the clouds, with the title 'A proposal for resisting darkness by Yasmin Joseph in collaboration with HMP Downview theatre company'

A Proposal for Resisting Darkness

An audio drama by Yasmin Joseph in collaboration with HMP Downview Theatre Company

Blis-ta

A bold and startling audio drama by Sonya Hale
a woman looks out of the window of a prison van

Sweatbox

Chloë Moss’s Clean Break play is transformed into an electric adaptation for the screen.

Spotlight on...
Pregnancy and Motherhood in Prison

a photo of a pregnant woman

Why the campaign to end the imprisonment of pregnant women must include new mothers

An introduction to the research behind our touring production, Scenes from Lost Mothers
three cast members of scenes from lost mothers

Interview with the cast of Scenes from Lost Mothers

Claire Bayley, Shabina Cannon and Ro Florence share their experience of Clean Break's Acting Traineeship programme
scenes from lost mothers

Hearts, minds and bodies: cultural power will end the imprisonment of pregnant women and mothers

Janey Starling is co-director of Level Up, a feminist organisation that campaigns for an end to the imprisonment of pregnant women and mothers. After seeing Clean Break's play Scenes from Lost Mothers, she writes about the power of culture in creating political change.
Anna Herrmann and Neetu Singh

Behind the Scenes from Lost Mothers

Director Anna Herrmann and Assistant Director Neetu Singh discuss the process of creating Clean Break's touring play
Dr laura abbott presenting research findings

The Lost Mothers Project: Revealing the Hidden Trauma of Maternal Separation in Prison

Midwife and researcher Dr Laura Abbott shares insights from her ground-breaking research project
a woman looks out of the window of a prison van

Sweatbox

Chloë Moss’s Clean Break play is transformed into an electric adaptation for the screen.
ro florence

Arts for Impact with the Cast of Scenes from Lost Mothers

Claire Bayley, Shabina Cannon and Ro Florence talk about the transformative impact of theatre for the people on stage and in the audience
Claire Bayley in Scenes from Lost Mothers clip

Watch: Clip from Scenes from Lost Mothers

Claire Bayley performs a scene from Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's play about motherhood and imprisonment
Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti sat in a theatre

Meet our Playwrights: Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti shares how the Clean Break commissioning process compelled her to write Baby, and what she wants audiences to take away from her work
Pearl Mackie as Baby, wearing a yellow fur coat

Pearl Mackie on Her Role as Baby

Actor Pearl Mackie talks about playing the lead in our one-woman co-production with Brixton House, written by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti

Latest

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Natasha Bucknor MBE

Black History Month: Honouring Community Leaders with Executive Director Natasha Bucknor MBE

Clean Break's Executive Director explores the 2026 Black History Month theme of 'Honouring our Communities', sharing reflections on the spaces and people she's found community in
Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti sat in a theatre

Meet our Playwrights: Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti shares how the Clean Break commissioning process compelled her to write Baby, and what she wants audiences to take away from her work
Pearl Mackie as Baby, wearing a yellow fur coat

Pearl Mackie on Her Role as Baby

Actor Pearl Mackie talks about playing the lead in our one-woman co-production with Brixton House, written by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti

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a photo of a stack of book, with Dixon and Daughters by Deborah Bruce on top
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Lakesha talks to the camera, illustrated pink swirls surround her

Bitesize Learning: Creative Activity Ideas for Frontline Workers

Three top tips for how to bring creativity into your work as a frontline practitioner.
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About us

a production photo from more than we can bear at the Almeida theatre, the cast are taking their bows on stage
Clean Break changes lives and changes minds through theatre – on stage, in prison and in the community. We produce ground-breaking plays with women’s voices at the heart of our work and use theatre to transform the lives of women with experience of the criminal justice system or at risk of entering it.

Our History

Clean Break Theatre Company with the Mayor of Camden outside HMP Holloway, 1986
Clean Break was established by two women in prison in 1979, at HMP Askham Grange, who believed that theatre could bring the hidden stories of women who are criminalised to a wider audience. Explore Clean Break’s radical and unique story in our interactive digital archive.

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