What happens when a political activist and writer ends up in jail for drug dealing? 

Just ask Mark Thomas. 

Set in the years following the Strangeways Prison Riot of 1991 when the disgraced prison system has to try and prove it isn’t so fascist after all, Ordinary Decent Criminals follows recovering addict Frankie, played by Mark, into the brave new world of a liberal prison experiment. 

Following his drugs bust, Frankie gets clean from all drugs but still finds himself sentenced to 3.5 years for importing cannabis resin disguised as chocolate bars from Spain via the postal service. Long story. But Frankie’s got time to tell it to you now… if only he can stay out of trouble long enough. 

And in the brave new world of the liberal nick – where cons more or less police themselves – trouble is never far away, especially for someone like Frankie who stands out like a pig at a wedding. Frankie makes inevitable mistake after inevitable mistake until a crunch inevitably comes. 

Along the way, Frankie meets a variety of colourful and dangerous characters including an Iggy Pop fan who stabbed his abuser 27 times, the jail’s 3 scariest enforcers, Liverpool’s biggest heroin dealer, an IRA man and an ex-para who is in love with one of the nick’s many female screws – all brought to life by Mark. 

None of Frankie’s fellow cons are what they seem, but as their paths criss-cross (sometimes in catastrophic ways), Frankie finds a way into their troubled hearts, and they into his. 

Exploring themes of freedom, messy love and revolution, Ordinary Decent Criminals aims to make you laugh, make you cry, and make you glad you don’t sell drugs any more.

Paines Plough is a touring theatre company led by Joint Artistic Directors Charlotte Bennett and Katie Posner. Dedicated entirely to new writing, we discover, develop and empower writers and share their unique new stories with audiences all over the UK and beyond. 

Founded in 1974, we have worked with over 500 playwrights including James Graham, Sarah Kane, Nathan Bryon, Kae Tempest, Vinay Patel, Mike Bartlett, Chloë Moss, Dennis Kelly, Zia Ahmed and Anna Jordan. Our plays are nationally discovered and locally heard. Each year, we tour our shows to over 30,000 people and work with 400 writers through our nationwide, multi-year writer development programme, Tour The Writer. 

In 2019, alongside Ellie Keel, we co-founded the Women’s Prize for Playwriting to redress the imbalance of stories being told on our national stages, and we have co-produced and toured two of the winners so far: Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me by Amy Trigg and You Bury Me by Ahlam. 

In 2024-25, the company celebrates 50 years of discovering writers and bringing new plays to audiences. At a time where the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain has warned of ‘an existential threat to new playwriting,’ the #PP50for50 campaign, which aims to raise £50,000 to support the next 50 years of the company’s work nurturing and producing new writing. 

www.painesplough.com
Donate to the #PP50for50 campaign: https://www.justgiving.com/painesplough
Instagram: @painesplough
Bluesky: @painesplough.bsky.social
Facebook: /painesploughHQ
Youtube: /painesplough

Live Theatre’s vision is for a North East that writes its own story and fights for a more creative future. 

Live Theatre is a leading force in the creation of new plays. It produces world class plays and discovers, nurtures and develops emerging theatre makers. It creates high quality, contemporary plays that are socially engaging, entertaining and steeped in the questions and issues of today. Live Theatre reflects the wide range of backgrounds and culture within the North East and champions work from the region. Live Theatre is the only theatre in England, outside London, dedicated to the production of new plays. It has been doing this for 50 years.  

www.live.org.uk 

Winner: The Stage Producer of the Year 2024 

Founded in 2019, Ellie Keel Productions commissions, develops and produces fearlessly imaginative new plays.  

Recent work includes the Olivier Award-nominated The Swell by Isley Lynn (Orange Tree Theatre, 2023) and 2022 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting winner Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz by Nathan Queeley-Dennis (Paines Plough Roundabout & Royal Court Theatre, both 2023; UK tour, 2024).  

Other recent productions include the critically-acclaimed and award-winning shows An Interrogation by Jamie Armitage (Summerhall, 2023; Hampstead Theatre, 2025), Bellringers by Daisy Hall (Paines Plough Roundabout, 2024; Hampstead Theatre, 2024), The Last Show Before We Die by Mary Higgins and Ell Potter (Paines Plough Roundabout, 2023), You Bury Me by Ahlam (Bristol Old Vic, Royal Lyceum Theatre & Orange Tree Theatre, 2023), and Sap by Rafaella Marcus (Paines Plough Roundabout, 2022; Soho Theatre & UK tour, 2023).  

Previous notable EKP shows include joint winner of the 2020 Women’s Prize for Playwriting Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me by Amy Trigg (Kiln Theatre, 2021; UK tour, 2022), Collapsible by Margaret Perry (HighTide Festival at Assembly; Dublin’s Abbey Theatre, 2019; Bush Theatre, 2020), Hotter by Mary Higgins and Ell Potter (Underbelly, 2019; Soho Theatre and tour), Still No Idea by Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence (Traverse Theatre, Southbank Centre & UK tour, 2019), and Fitter by Mary Higgins and Ell Potter (Soho Theatre, 2019-20). 

Established in 2000, Synergy Theatre Project is an award-winning company working with prisoners and ex-prisoners through theatre. Producing shows in both theatres and prisons, Synergy also runs creative engagement and new writing initiatives—supporting young people and developing playwriting skills inside prisons. 

Through a programme of artistic work, Synergy builds a bridge from prison to social reintegration, helps prevent young people from entering the criminal justice system, and inspires change by capturing the imagination and shifting attitudes, feelings, and behaviours.

In recognition of its impact, Synergy won the Community Award at the Stage Awards 2025. 

www.synergytheatreproject.co.uk
Instagram: @synergytheatreproject
Youtube: /synergytheatreproject