Leave your feminism at the door, along with your other valuables , one of the guards tells a visitor to the prison. Principles may well be left at the door, but rules are rules. The prisons rules, the residents who have chosen not to abide the rules set by society and also the prisoners' rules; of friendship and trust, the difference between the criminals and those who commit a crime.

Clean Break celebrates their Silver anniversary with a masterful piece of work. The piece was written, by Jennifer Farmer, after time spent observing women, and leading workshops, in HMP Send. Compact Failure follows the lives of three female prisoners; the shoplifting ‘Chelle, the drugs mule Maya and the reformed drug addict Ruthie. We follow their story through flashback beginning with the release of 'Chelle before catching a glimpse at a snapshot of their experiences in prison.

This play is full of fiery dialogue, where every word packs a punch, and reveals more about the characters and their situation as every scene smacks the audience in the face. Couple the very good script with three brilliant performances and this play really is something special.

There are weak points, long scene changes were an irritant, but, with performances this good they can be forgiven. Sarah Esdaile's direction is sparse and very naturalistic, working wonderfully within the setting. This didn't seem like a play at all but more a documentary on life inside a prison. There were no clichés, just a well balanced glance inside one of Britain 's HMPs, a place where real people face real decisions and deal with some conflicting and powerful emotions. An excellent piece of theatre.