Council funding supports creative community exhibition and experience
A unique new immersive engagement project by BearFace Theatre has been supported by Winchester City Council.
BearFace’s Speak Out, Listen In headphone theatre performance was initially shared at West Downs Centre as part of Winchester Law Week in October 2025. A community pop-up exhibition took place in The ARC, Winchester, at the end of last month.
Speak Out, Listen In explores the criminal justice system through sound, creativity and spoken word. It was co-created with men in prison, and inspired by women on probation and young people.
It has also delivered a wide range of creative workshops across Winchester, with participants including prisoners, those experiencing homelessness, and adults with learning disabilities.
Funding for the project came via the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, distributed by the Winchester City Council Economy and Tourism team.
Charlotte Slinger, Company Director for BearFace Theatre, said: “This funding has given us the opportunity for the first time to bring these voices to the public and to inspire shared conversations about crime and safety. This aligns perfectly with our mission to try to get marginalised voices heard and to use the arts to inspire social change.
“We hope that the project will improve community safety by challenging assumptions, humanising experiences of crime and justice, and encouraging meaningful public conversation about what safety really means in Winchester.
“We are grateful to everyone who contributed to Speak Out, Listen In, including local volunteers, Spurgeons, HMP Winchester prisoners, Trinity Winchester, Winchester GOLD, the University of Winchester, and the Winchester Law Week Festival”.
Councillor Lucille Thompson, Winchester City Council’s Cabinet Member for Business and Culture, added: “This valuable project, funded under the theme of Healthy, Safe and Inclusive Communities, encouraged so many conversations about lived experiences of the criminal justice system and how safety is perceived. We were delighted to hear such positive feedback from those who were able to attend Speak Out, Listen In, and were so emotionally engaged by it”.