Theatre therapy project helps rehabilitate inmates of Shanghai Qingpu Prison

Shot by Hu Jun. Edited by Zhong Youyang. Subtitles by Wang Xinzhou.

“Hurry up! It’s your turn!” a Chinese prisoner surnamed Huang calls in English to several inmates from other countries who are backstage. The foreign performers quickly run to the sides of the stage with handmade props.

Recently, the original stage play “The Dreamland,” created in Shanghai Qingpu Prison over five years, premiered inside the high walls.

It was adapted from the real stories of criminals, showing their psychological journey from being lost to repentance, from redemption to gratitude. It attracted hundreds of people to watch, including social workers and staff members of local judicial bureaus.

The event was not a shindig but an act in a dramatic therapy project for correcting prisoners’ behavior and cognitive bias. It has also been introduced in many prisons in other countries, such as the United States and Britain. Some universities also have relevant courses for academic research.

Qingpu prison is the earliest prison in China to practice drama for rehabilitation, after it established the “ISUN Performance and Art Group” in 2011. More than 150 inmates from 76 countries have joined the group and participated in over 80 art productions, involving drama, dance and music.

Ti Gong

The original stage play ‘The Dreamland,’ which was created in Shanghai Qingpu Prison over five years, premiered inside the high walls recently.

The art troupe is like a ray of light for many prisoners, including Huang, illuminating their once-opaque futures and giving them a new lease of life.

Huang is now a gentle, friendly person with a ready smile. It is hard to believe that he was the violent offender sentenced in his court verdict.

When he was young, he was tough and participated in a gang fight which caused someone to die. He then fled to the southwest of China out of fear of imprisonment.

During his following 12 years in exile, he married and started his own business. His newborn baby girl gave the fugitive the courage to face his past sins. He surrendered himself to the police in 2015 and longed to go back to his hometown and visit his family with his wife and daughter after he is released.

“I didn’t know what to do in the prison at first,” Huang told Shanghai Daily. “When I saw the art troupe recruiting, I signed up.”

Wang Shengluo, a police officer and the director of the dramatic therapy project of the prison, hesitated before accepting the Huang.

“The art group generally does not accept violent lawbreakers because interpersonal communication is unavoidable during performances and rehearsals, which is a challenge for prison stability,” he said.

The troupe finally accepted Huang because of his good appearance and standard Mandarin, trying to give even violent inmates a chance to turn over a new leaf.

“At first, he sometimes argued with others,” said Yao Chenlingfeng, another police officer who was also an actor in “The Dreamland.”

“For example, the actors have short preparation time at backstage, but, as a stage manager, he can’t bear them throwing props around casually,” Yao said.

Ti Gong

A bilingual label directs the performers backstage in Shanghai Qingpu Prison.

Many other inmates also continued their tempers and bad habits initially, such as disobeying discipline, arguing, or cheating.

To prevent the inmates from committing crimes again after being released, it is necessary to break the “endless criminal chain,” which includes bad speech and habits, as well as an misperception of themselves and the world.

“This is exactly the effect that the project aims to achieve for art group members and even all prisoners,” Wang said.

Huang said that the most memorable part of the stage play is about fighting and being imprisoned. He watched it backstage and recalled his past life, which could be described as absurd and impulsive, as with the characters in the play. He also started to reflect on the harm he did to his victims and their families.

The story of the play also agitates a performer surnamed Rong, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for fraud. He is the protagonist of the last scene of “The Dreamland.” Whenever he sees a mother with gray hair in the play, looking forward to her son’s release, he feels pain because his mother is also waiting for him to return home.

“The police officers told me that the performers needed to experience and understand the character’s thoughts so that the audience could be moved,” Rong said.

Jiang Diwen / Jiefang Daily

A prisoner, surnamed Rong (right), performs in the last scene of ‘The Dreamland’ with a prisoner who acts as his mother.

Criminals can only rehabilitate themselves after experiencing hardship. Inmates constantly experience the pain that crime brings to them during rehearsals, performances, and watching the play, which is their ascetic practices, Wang said.

Wang added that the results on the art group members is obvious. The rate of severe violation of discipline among them is only 0.76 percent, far lower than the same figure among other inmates.

The performance brought tears to many in the audience, including the Chinese performing artist Song Huaiqiang. “These actors are portraying themselves. It is commendable that a person is willing to expose their deepest emotions,” he said.

At the end of the performance, the audience responded with thunderous applause.

“The sound of applause can cleanse their sense of failure and abandonment,” Wang said. “They are labeled by themselves as ‘successful’ again.”

It can be very hard for them to stand onstage because of their sense of shame and inferiority.

Zhang Xiaoye, a lecturer at East China University of Political Science and Law, shared her failed experience of a dramatic therapy project in a Chinese prison during her speech in 2020. She said that most inmates were unwilling to stand onstage because they are afraid of being pointed at and laughed at by other people.

In Qingpu prison, a positive loop for the project has formed. Thousands of successful performances have attracted more inmates to pay attention and make efforts to support it.

Ti Gong

Wang Shengluo, director of the prison’s dramatic therapy project, guides the performers of ISUN Performance and Art Group during rehearsal.

To communicate with foreign lawbreakers during rehearsals and performances, Huang, an absolute beginner, taught himself English for seven years. Now, he can have daily conversations in English with them, which surprised many other policemen in the prison.

Huang said some foreign prisoners of the art group are also learning Chinese by themselves and are looking forward to being interpreters in their countries after being released.

“Compared to other inmates, more art group members have obtained diplomas during their imprisonment,” Wang said.

“Most inmates will return to society. We would like to see them rehabilitate in hope, realizing that their future will be good,” said Li Qiang, the warden of Qingpu prison.

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