Thursday, September 19, 2013

Case Study No. 0999: Unnamed Male Librarian (Prison Break Bristol)

Prison Break Bristol 2012 - Librarian Before Lights Out - Low Resolution
6:14
No description available.
Tags: Prison Break Bristol 2012 Immersive Performance am.idst Neil Puttick Artspace Lifespace College Play Art Activism
Added: 11 months ago
From: inourmidsts
Views: 72

[scene opens inside of a school gymnasium, as volunteers dressed in prison outfits sit in "cages" while actors dressed in guard uniforms walk around barking orders]
MALE GUARD: You will speak when you are spoken to! If you wish to speak to me, you say "Sir!"
[he pauses, as the prisoners say nothing]
MALE GUARD: You can talk!
[they start laughing]
MALE GUARD: You can't laugh! This is not a funny experience, okay?
[the camera pans over to a female guard standing on the other side of the "cage"]
FEMALE GUARD: Have you introduced each other to yourselves? Yeah? Yeah? I'm Master Roberts, you will refer to me as "Miss" ... if you may choose to do so, yes?
[the prisoners laugh]
FEMALE GUARD: Good answer ... Any questions that you may have, I can answer them, if you choose.
[cut to the female guard looking at the male prison librarian (prisoner outfit, thick glasses, pushing a cart filled with books) as he bends down to whisper to some of the prisoners on the other side of the "cage" ... when another guard comes over, he quickly stands up and pretends that he's looking over the books]
LIBRARIAN: Uh, right! Thank you very much!
[he tries to push the cart away, as the male guard looks him over]
LIBRARIAN: Sir?
[cut to the librarian whispering to some other prisoners, who laugh]
LIBRARIAN: [whispers] No laughing! This is not a place for fucking jokes, alright?
FEMALE GUARD: [from off camera] Excuse me, you little cunts!
[he quickly stands up and puts his hands on the bookcart, looking down at the floor as she approaches]
LIBRARIAN: Mum?
FEMALE GUARD: How many fucking times do we have to talk about this?
LIBRARIAN: Mum! Sorry, mum!
FEMALE GUARD: Yeah yeah, use your specky eyes to look at me and shut the fuck up! Look at me!
[he slowly raises his head and looks at her]
FEMALE GUARD: Just do your fucking job--
LIBRARIAN: Yes, mum!
FEMALE GUARD: Or we'll take your fucking job away!
LIBRARIAN: Yes, mum! Yes, mum! No! No, mum! Don't take my books away, mum! Don't take my books away!
FEMALE GUARD: It's your second fucking warning! Don't make me give you a third one!
LIBRARIAN: Yes, mum! No no no!
[she takes one of the books off the cart and throws it at him]
FEMALE GUARD: Because I will enjoy it!
LIBRARIAN: My books, no!
[she takes another book and tosses it on the floor]
LIBRARIAN: No, mum! No!
FEMALE GUARD: You fucking cunt!
[she walks off, as he bends down and quickly picks up the books (while another male guard watches him closely)]
LIBRARIAN: Sorry, mate, sorry! Very sorry, very sorry! Just doin' my rounds, just doin' my rounds!
[he puts his head down and pushes the cart away, then cut to the librarian surrounded by guards as the female guard marches over]
LIBRARIAN: What? I'm sorry, mum, I'm just giving them some books to read!
FEMALE GUARD: No, I'm sorry!
[she starts grabbing books and throwing them on the floor]
LIBRARIAN: No no no no! My books! These are my friends, no!
[she grabs him by the arm]
LIBRARIAN: No! What're you doing?!
FEMALE GUARD: Fuck! This is your ... Oy! Don't struggle, you'll make it fucking worse!
[the other guards grab him and start dragging him away, as he screams at the top of his lungs]
LIBRARIAN: No! No! No!
FEMALE GUARD: This is your third and final fucking warning!
LIBRARIAN: No! No! No! Nooooooo!
FEMALE GUARD: Fuck you!
[the lights go out, then cut to the librarian grabbing his books off of the floor (as the guards surround him, and one kicks some of the books away)]
LIBRARIAN: I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
MALE GUARD: No more fraternizing again, are we clear?
LIBRARIAN: Sorry, mum! Sorry, mum! Sorry, mum! It's my fault, mum! It's my fault! All my fault, mum! All my fault! I'm very sorry!
[the guards start to disperse, as the librarian continues to furiously pick up the books]
LIBRARIAN: My books, my beautiful books! Oy!
[he gets up and starts to push the cart away]
LIBRARIAN: Sorry, sir! Sorry, sir! Very sorry!
[one of the male guards grabs the cart, then points at a book that's still on the floor]
LIBRARIAN: Very sorry! Very sorry! Very sorry! I'm very sorry!
[he quickly picks it up, then puts it on the cart and pushes it away]
LIBRARIAN: I'm very sorry!
[cut to the librarian talking (very loudly) to some of the prisoners]
LIBRARIAN: We, uh, we look like we could do with some educating, that's right ... Uh, let's have a look!
[he starts rummaging through the books on his cart]
LIBRARIAN: What kind of things would be good for you?
[he picks up one of the books]
LIBRARIAN: Uh, "The Case of Sherlock Holmes," perhaps? Maybe that would be up your suite ...
[he leans in and lowers his voice]
LIBRARIAN: [whispers] What the fuck are you guys in for? Come on, talk talk talk! Quick quick quick! Speak now, for fuck's sake!
[he looks around nervously (as the prisoners just laugh), so he continues talking about the book in a loud voice (so as not to raise suspicions)]
LIBRARIAN: Sherlock Holmes, ah yes!
[one of the prisoners laughs and says "Indecent exposure!", but the librarian continues unabated]
LIBRARIAN: Uh, you were saying, you were saying, yes! Moriarty, yes! No, you don't want that, it might give you nightmares!
[he puts the book back on the cart, then picks up another one]
LIBRARIAN: This is a lovely case, I tell you what ... Uh, something a little bit light-hearted! Uh, Machiavelli! Try that! Something to do with the Renaissance!
[he slips the book through the bars, then leans in close again]
LIBRARIAN: [whispers] Read it, guys! Read it!
[he quickly leaves, pushing his cart towards another "cage" full of prisoners]
LIBRARIAN: We all feeling nice and educated, guys? Yes?
[the female guard follows him, but he continues pushing the cart around the room and greeting the prisoners in a loud voice]
LIBRARIAN: Guys guys guys, I do believe that I have not given you a book, is that correct?
[he stops in front of one of the cages and bends down to take a book off the bottom shelf of the cart]
LIBRARIAN: Let me have a look at what I have for you! Uh ... Yes, something nice and light-hearted!
[he takes a book and hands it to one of the prisoners]
LIBRARIAN: Uh, Douglas Adams might be well up your street! Yes, that's a series meant to titillate, yes! Enjoy it!
[he continues pushing the cart around, as the camera pans over to show the female guard huddled up with some of the other guards]
FEMALE GUARD: That one? The one in the corner?
[she points at something off camera]
FEMALE GUARD: If you're gonna, I reckon this one ... c'mere.
[the camera pans over to one of the male prisoners standing in the cage]
PRISONER: Sorry?
FEMALE GUARD: C'mere.
PRISONER: Can you call me by name or number? Can you call me by name or number? And not by "come on" ...
FEMALE GUARD: Don't speak back.
PRISONER: Well, I am.
FEMALE GUARD: I'm not calling you "come on" ... I'm not calling you anything. You ain't got a name, you ain't got a number. I'll call you whatever the fuck I want, alright?
PRISONER: Then you won't get any response.
[she puts a finger to her lips and quietly shushes him]
FEMALE GUARD: Shh ... This is not how it goes, alright?
[he says nothing, so the guard smiles]
FEMALE GUARD: You're gonna play up for me, are ya?
PRISONER: I'm a person, just like you are.
FEMALE GUARD: You're not really a person though, are ya?
PRISONER: And I want a bit of respect, just like you want it.
FEMALE GUARD: Not really a person, not while you're in this uniform, you ain't.
[he starts to laugh]
FEMALE GUARD: Oh, he's gone. He's got away with that, then.
[she points to one of the male guards holding a rubber glove]
FEMALE GUARD: He's got a glove he's desperate to use.
[he shrugs]
PRISONER: Keep tryin' ...
[she walks away, as the camera pans over to the librarian being stopped and questioned by another female guard]
LIBRARIAN: I'm just runnin' my books, mum! Just runnin' my books! Just runnin' my books! Just runnin' my books!
[she slaps him in the ass with one of his books, and he starts rolling the cart away]
LIBRARIAN: Yes, mum! Yes, mum! Right away, mum!
[he heads back towards the cage, then leans in close and whispers to the prisoners]
LIBRARIAN: [whispers] Be very careful who you trust tonight! You can get shit from some of your guards! Keep your eyes open!
[he turns and starts pushing his cart away]

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From theatrebristol.net:

Prison Break is a not-for-profit project raising money and awareness for The Prison Reform Trust, Amnesty and Clean Break.

Our headline piece, Prison Break – The Game, is an immersive game/experiencial theatre piece performed over two sites (and a prison bus) on the 23rd, 24th and 25th March, featuring a huge cast of prison guards, inmates, and other prison visitors. In the course of one night you will have an experience that would normally take 25 years to life….

Throughout March 2012, a series of events including film screenings and gigs will also be hitting the streets of Bristol, all with a distinct Prison twist.

For the latest news about the game and events please keep an eye on our news feed, or follow us on Twitter (Prisoner819) or join our group on Facebook (Prison Break, Bristol).

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From prisonbreak.org.uk:

Prison Break is an immersive game/theatrical experience, running for three nights from the 23rd – 25th March, over two fascinating sites (and a "prison" bus) featuring a huge cast of prison guards, inmates and other prison visitors.

With influences from Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment, and a kaleidoscopic ride through the cinematographic world of prison, interwoven with first hand experiences from prison guards, and prisoners; Prison Break will give its audience a high definition experience in one night that can only otherwise be achieved over twenty-five years to life….

"With a daring escape brewing, will you stay in the confines of the prison with no chance for parole or will you join forces with others or work alone to make your Prison Break? Whatever you decide, be prepared to run for your life ... "

Tickets are now on sale!

Audience are advised that this performance will involve walking, running and some intense experiences - you have been warned

Due to the nature of this show, it is only suitable for those aged 18+

Tickets include entry to the Prison Break after party!

Please include a valid email as vital information will be sent to you by email before the event

---

From thisisbristol.co.uk:

From the confines of a prison, where a daring escape is being planned, more than 300 people will be running for their lives in a city-wide theatre game.

Echoing previous large scale games, such as zombie chase, 2.8 hours later, Prison Break will be held in Bristol over three days later this month.

The not-for-profit project, described as "immersive theatre", will also raise money for charities The Prison Reform Trust, Amnesty and Clean Break.

The project has been created by 29-year-old Lydia Mason who lives in Ashley Down.

She says: "I moved to Bristol a few years ago but I had been involved with similar projects in London. When I got here I became friends with Rosie Fairchild, of Splash and Ripple, and it went from there."

Splash and Ripple were responsible for Shadows Follow, a night-time game that took people to some of Bristol's most secret corners and terrifying ancient underground places in a search for a missing girl.

Prison Break takes participants on an equally terrifying mission, putting them on trial before a court, giving them a prison uniform, driving them to prison in a bus and locking them up in the cells with no chance of parole.

Lydia says: "This project has been about a year in the pipeline and only really came together in the last few months.

"It needs more than 100 volunteers to make it happen and we've done a lot of research.

"I actually found it really fascinating. I went down to prisons in London and spoke to inmates and prison guards. I realised that most of what I knew about prisons came from films. Actually there were a lot of differences in real life – some of them good and some of them bad.

"What was interesting was the co-dependency between the prison guards and the prisoners."

As part of the game, prisoners can plan an escape on their own, work together or await their fate.

"There will be clues for the escape and an explosion at one point and then a chase around the grounds before being rounded up to go back on the bus to the after-party – but I don't want to give the locations away," Lydia says.

The interactive element of the game brings a new dimension to a theatre experience and has seen enormous success in recent years – 2.8 hours later, for example, involved more than 300 people.

"I don't want to insult traditional theatre but it can be seen as quite passive," Lydia says. "This has really captured people's imaginations as I think they like the real world element to it.

"People are sometimes a bit reluctant to take part in the beginning but then they really get into it and get into character. It's grown-ups at play."

The project will cost about 2,000 pounds to bring to life and expects to raise a further 2,000 pounds for the charities.

"It's amazing what you can do and what can be achieved," Lydia adds.

"The Bristol Arts Community is so strong and vibrant that we've had lots of offers of help with the building, scenery and costumes.

"We'd like a company to help us provide some food for the volunteers next, as they work incredibly hard over the three nights."

Prison Break takes place from Friday, March 23, to Sunday, March 25. Tickets cost 15 pounds.

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