Clean Break Theatre Company was founded in 1979 by two women who met in prison and believed in the power of theatre to transform lives.

Today, Clean Break continues to change lives and minds on stage, in prison, and in the community through ground-breaking theatre which puts women’s voices at its heart and challenges injustice within and beyond the criminal justice system.

We became home to their public archive in 2019, in recognition of their 40th Anniversary and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Their archive contains playscripts, production photography, original artwork, letters from their founders, and more.

We'll be revisiting ephemera from the earliest days of Clean Break's 40-year history as part of their upcoming archive launch.

The company's founders – Jenny Hicks and Jacqueline Holborough – will be talking us through the origins of Clean Break, as well as their future plans.