Persons convicted of various crimes tell tales of the untold – BUILT TO CONTAIN, a premiere radio play. First recorded on Friday the 13th of December, 2013, this piece was developed with international artists and is performed by convicted felons in Northern Ireland.

CORNERS creative artists: Ana Frank (Slovenia), Paula McFetridge (Ireland) and Laurence McKeown (Ireland)

Recorded by Cormac O’Kane @ RED BOX

Project executive producer: Nataša Zavolovšek/Exodos

Developed as part of CORNERS, a large intercultural arts project, through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Exodos in Slovenia and other partners, the project involved nine convicted persons working alongside academic and oral archivist Ana Frank, Paula McFetridge, Director of acclaimed theatre company Kabosh, playwright Laurence McKeown and Executive Producer at Exodos Natasa Zavolovšek. Through a series of meetings and workshops, stories were gathered to produce a unique 16 minute play exploring life in prison including daily routines, power systems, small acts of rebellion, communication with the world beyond the walls and imaginary escapism.

This project development model will be utilized throughout countries of Europe via a series of commissioned radio plays, the first of which is taking place in Belfast December 2013 , and then heading to Sweden, San Sebastian Spain, Slovenia, Croatia and Italy.

Built to Contain, supported in Belfast by NIACRO, was produced over a three-week period: developing script ideas, interviewing individuals with convictions and finally performing and recording the play. This involved the artists facilitating workshops to develop and encourage skills in scriptwriting including narrative, characterization, language and structure; performance skills of voice projection, clarity of intention and emotional development, plus technical skills such as microphone technique, recording and editing.

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