The Hal Company based in Bury St Edmunds to take new play, Penned Up, on national tour thanks to Arts Council funding
A drama production company has received an Arts Council grant to help fund a national tour of its latest play.
The Hal Company, based in Bury St Edmunds, has secured the funding to take Penned Up — a new play written by CEO Danusia Iwaszko — on tour in autumn 2025.
Set in a men's prison, the drama follows six inmates who join a writing course which offers them a chance to step outside their cells while confronting the emotional struggles.
Following its premiere at the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds in September 2025, the production will tour 11 theatres and three prisons across the country.
Stops will include Ipswich, Sudbury, Norwich, Chelmsford, Peterborough, Buxton, Blackpool and two London venues — Greenwich and Arcola Theatre where the tour will conclude in October.
Danusia said: “We are absolutely delighted to have received this funding and are hugely grateful to the Arts Council for putting their trust in us.
“As a newly established charity this allows us to tour a thought-provoking play and be part of a national conversation around the important subject of rehabilitation in prison.
“It also means that, with support from our sponsors, we can now look ahead to develop plans in the pipeline for future productions.”
The Hal Company is a charitable incorporated organisation that runs playwriting workshops, helping people share their stories through professional actors with some being developed into full-length plays for staging and touring.
For the production, The Hal Company is collaborating with Synergy Theatre Project, a prison theatre company, SFTW, a London-based production house as well as St Giles Trust which supports individuals facing disadvantage including those with offending backgrounds.
The company would like to thank Arts Council England, Suffolk County Council, Suffolk Community Foundation, Suffolk Town Council, Menagerie Theatre, The Drapers Charitable Trust, The Ridley Godfrey Foundation, St Giles, Synergy Theatre Project, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, Conservatoire East and Suzanne Drown in association with HighTide.
