FEVER

For Beyond the Forbidden Gate, we have worked with SISCO to present a filmed rehearsal of Fever – an original play written and directed by Gemma Muir, SISCO’s Senior Community Coordinator. Developed through workshopping and rehearsals with the SISCO community, Fever is drawn from lived experiences of addiction and recovery both in and out of the prison system.

SISCO have also developed Fever: Writing the Highs and Lows of Recovery— a new collection of writing that brings together the script for Fever with prose and poetry written by members of SISCO’s creative writing group facilitated by Joey over the course of his In-Residence project. Developed through a series of prompts and writing exercises drawing from the legacy of The Special Unit at HMP Barlinnie, alternative histories of the city, and the role of community and solidarity, these new works respond to and expand upon the central themes put forward in Fever.

You can read FEVER here

SISCO (Sustainable Interventions Supporting Change Outside) is a charity based in Springburn that supports prisoners to build a bridge between prison and the community. Since 2020, SISCO have been developing and delivering recovery initiatives within the Scottish Prison Service. They have developed a model that offers multiple pathways to recovery and is fundamental to individuals caught up in the cycle of addiction. SISCO offer prisoners a safe environment to address complex needs and trauma caused by addiction and their Recovery Cafes are peer led and self-policed by prisoners for prisoners.