Following a run of West Side Story at Wandsworth prison, governor Ian Mulholland has agreed Pimlico Opera will stage another performance at the prison next year. This is great news, especially after Jack Straw ran screaming from the tabloid press and cancelled a well-established arts programme at Whitemoor prison earlier this year. But it’s still such a small step on the road.
Pimlico Opera's production at HMP Wandsworth was a success. Image courtesy www.grangeparkopera.co.uk
Not only will the redtops and the comment is free community start moaning and making flippant remarks about jazz hands, but, Mulholland’s valiant decision still only means seven weeks of Pimlico Opera a year, for only twenty prisoners. It’s prohibitively expensive, completely funded by charitable donations, and for obvious reasons there are limits on how and where they can advertise. I feel qualified to respond to critics – and there are many – having actually seen the performance. I also know that those who blast the project, or others like it, can’t have seen the performance at HMP Wandsworth.
I’m not an opera lover, but I’d go if it was prisoners performing!
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