CRIMINAL JUSTICE

esc films has worked inside Northern Ireland’s prisons for more than 25 years. Our Artistic Director, Tom Magill, brings his own lived experience of prison to this work, and his creative practice in prisons goes back even further. From drama and theatre in Long Kesh/The Maze to Mickey B, the world-first feature film made with serving prisoners in HMP Maghaberry, this work has shaped who we are.

Today we work across all three of Northern Ireland’s prisons, delivering accredited expressive writing and storytelling programmes to men, women and transgender people in custody. Much of this work happens quietly and out of public view, because trust, safety and anonymity come first. Where participants choose to share their stories, they can challenge stigma and change how people in prison are seen.

Our programmes support the whole person, not just the creative process. Tom is a qualified Hatha yoga teacher, and our CEO, Kirsten, is a specialist Mental Health and Wellbeing coach. Together they combine group work with yoga, breathwork, somatic practice and one-to-one coaching, helping participants feel safe and grounded as they explore difficult stories.

Snakes & Ladders: Inside Out runs in HMP Maghaberry and HMP Magilligan with men preparing for release. Through writing and group work, participants identify the “snakes” that could lead them back to prison and build the “ladder” that will help them reach their goals. They record their insights on audio and take the recordings with them on release, so each day they hear their own voice reminding them of the choices they’ve committed to.

Unboxing Women is our programme with women at Hydebank Wood. Through expressive writing and trauma-informed practice, participants explore the childhood experiences that shaped their lives. Their anonymous stories, alongside contributions from women prison staff, are brought together in a professionally sound-designed audiovisual installation that builds understanding and challenges stigma.

Unboxing Women: Before You Judge Me premiered at Ulster University on 29 October 2026, opened by Beverley Wall, Director General of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

• Watch the launch livestream
• Listen to the BBC Radio Ulster Sunday Sequence feature

Mickey B Our first feature film was a world first: the first feature ever made inside a maximum security prison with serving prisoners as the cast. Shot in HMP Maghaberry, Mickey B is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, exploring ambition, betrayal, murder and revenge – themes that, as one prisoner put it, “are played out every day in here”. Prisoners took on every part of the production, from acting and set building to continuity, sound and make-up. The film also became the basis for Unlocking Shakespeare, an educational resource funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland that helps young people who are switched off from learning engage creatively with drama, English and media studies. Find out more and watch Mickey B.