Walking The Wing by Rideout

'And then I feel like there’s no air and everything just feels tight’.

Walking the Wing is an audio drama about incarceration in England during the COVID 19 pandemic, created with men serving prison sentences, prison staff, and people with lived experience of the criminal justice system.

In March 2020 the UK Prison Service began operating an Exceptional Regime Management Plan to try and prevent a mass COVID 19 outbreak in the prison estate. The realities of this regime for people who are incarcerated has often meant periods of prolonged isolation, a lack of family contact, limited access to showers and outdoor space, and very little engagement in education and rehabilitation activities. This has prompted widespread concern around the human rights, wellbeing, and mental health of those held in prison and the increased pressure on the prison system.

Walking the Wing is the first of two pieces created as part of Sounding Out, an audio project that seeks to document, understand, and disseminate experiences of incarceration during COVID 19. Sounding Out is made possible with support from Research England's QR Strategic Priorities Fund and is a partnership between Rideout, University of Reading, the Prison Reform Trust, and HMP Hewell. The views expressed in the drama are representative of the prison system as a whole rather than HMP Hewell specifically.

Content Warning: This audio play contains strong language, and references to self harm, mental health issues, and drug use.