Synergy Theatre Project
Synergy Theatre Project is a UK charity that uses theatre to rehabilitate prisoners and ex-prisoners, train criminal justice professionals, and prevent youth offending, serving HMPPS, prisons, schools, and mainstream theatres across England.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Synergy Theatre Project does
Synergy Theatre Project is a UK registered charity (No. 1088692) founded in 2000 and headquartered in Brixton, London, that operates at the intersection of theatre and the criminal justice system. The organisation delivers theatre productions, bespoke role play training, casting services, and educational programmes for prisoners, ex-prisoners, young people at risk of offending, and criminal justice sector professionals. Its core operating model uses ex-prisoners as both artistic participants and facilitators — a structural design that produces authenticity in theatrical work and in training scenarios used by HM Prison and Probation Service, Community Rehabilitation Companies, and law schools.
The core 'technology' is a theatre-based rehabilitation methodology underpinned by lived experience and a 40+ production, 5-film content library accumulated over 20+ years. The organisation runs a small core team of 16 staff led by Artistic Director Esther Baker, with two Learning & Engagement Manager roles (Adults and Young People) reflecting its bifurcated participant base. Distribution occurs through four principal channels: direct delivery inside prison estates (HMP Brixton, HMP Wandsworth, HMP Downview, HMP Latchmere House, YOI Isis, HMP Thameside), co-productions and tours at mainstream theatres (Southwark Playhouse, Soho Theatre, Theatre503, Live Theatre Newcastle, Theatre Royal Plymouth), annual school tours to London primary schools, Pupil Referral Units and Youth Offending Teams, and a digital platform (Synergy at Home) for streaming content globally.
Revenue is derived from four blended streams: charitable donations and grants (including Arts Council England NPO funding), fee-based role play training for criminal justice professionals, theatre production revenue from co-productions and touring fees, and income from film and digital content. Programmes are largely free to participants (ex-prisoner acting and screenwriting courses, young people workshops), while role play training is bespoke/quote-based and theatre tickets are Pay What You Can (£4–£20). Quantitative outcomes reported include a 97% non-reoffending rate among participants, 70,000+ live audience reach, 140,000+ online audience reach, 6,000+ young participants, and 5,000+ prisoner/ex-prisoner participants over the organisation's history.
Synergy Theatre Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Synergy Theatre Project
- Legal name
- Synergy Theatre Project
- Website
- https://synergytheatreproject.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Synergy Theatre Project is a UK charity that uses theatre to rehabilitate prisoners and ex-prisoners, train criminal justice professionals, and prevent youth offending, serving HMPPS, prisons, schools, and mainstream theatres across England.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Synergy Theatre Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Arts Rehabilitation Services
- NAICS
- Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (7115), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community & Amateur Theatre (MPAGABAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater) (EDAMAAAG), Children’s & Youth Theatre (MPAGABAE), Media Arts & Performance (Film, Stagecraft, Lighting, Sound) (EDAMAAAJ)
Keywords
Where Synergy Theatre Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Synergy Theatre Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Charitable Donations and Grants: As a registered charity (No 1088692), Synergy relies on donations, charitable trusts, and public funding including Arts Council England to sustain operations and programmes
- Role Play Training Services: Bespoke role play training services to criminal justice sector professionals, Community Rehabilitation Companies, law schools, and HM Prison and Probation Service
- Theatre Production Revenue: Revenue from theatre productions in mainstream venues, co-productions with partner theatres, and touring fees from schools and alternative provision
- Film and Digital Content: Short films screened at festivals and distributed to schools, PRUs and youth organisations, with accompanying educational workshops
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Pay What You Can theatre tickets |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Bespoke role play training |
| Freemium | Annual | Free participant programmes |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels4 records
Synergy Theatre Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Synergy Theatre Project is a registered charity and theatre company that produces theatre productions, delivers role play and immersive training for criminal justice and related professionals, and runs rehabilitation and educational programmes for prisoners, ex-prisoners, and young people at risk of offending. The organisation also offers casting services placing ex-prisoner actors in professional theatre, film, and TV productions, and runs online digital content (Synergy at Home, PlayNights).
Product overview
Synergy Theatre Project is a theatre and arts organization operating at the intersection of theatre and the criminal justice system. The organization offers a portfolio of services including theatre productions performed across prisons, mainstream theatres, schools, and non-traditional venues; bespoke role play training for criminal justice sector professionals; casting services for actors with lived experience; and educational programmes for both adults (prisoners and ex-prisoners) and young people at risk of offending. Productions include approximately 40 theatre productions and 5 films documented over 20+ years of operation. The organization also provides digital content through its 'Synergy at Home' platform. All offerings are designed to inspire change, support rehabilitation, and prevent crime through creative engagement.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Theatre Productions Original and devised theatre productions exploring the criminal justice system, performed by professional casts including ex-prisoner actors and aimed at general public audiences, schools, and criminal justice audiences.
- Role Play Training Bespoke role play and immersive training services for police officers, lawyers, prison officers, and other criminal justice professionals, using professional actors to simulate real-world scenarios.
- Casting Services Casting service that places ex-prisoner actors and other actors from the Synergy community into professional theatre, film, and TV productions, supporting rehabilitation through paid acting work.
- Young People's Programme Drama-based educational and outreach programme for young people at risk of offending, delivered in schools and Pupil Referral Units, aimed at diverting young people away from crime.
- Adults Programme Drama and rehabilitation programme for adult prisoners and ex-prisoners, supporting rehabilitation, reducing reoffending, and building skills through theatre practice.
- Synergy at Home Online digital content platform offering theatre performances, workshops, and activities for audiences and participants to access remotely.
- Playwright's PlayNights Pay What You Can online reading series featuring rehearsed readings of new plays by emerging playwrights, streamed live with audience interaction.
Quantifiable outcome
- 97% non-reoffending rate among participants
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Synergy Theatre Project
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Synergy Theatre Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Synergy Theatre Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Paines PloughcoreCo-production partner for productions including Ordinary Decent Criminal (2025). Paines Plough is a leading UK theatre company specialising in new writing, partnering with Synergy to bring ex-prisoner stories to wider audiences.
- Live Theatre NewcastlecoreCo-production partner for Ordinary Decent Criminal (2025) and One Off (2022). A major regional theatre with a focus on new writing and community engagement.
- Southwark PlayhousecoreCo-production partner for Lifers (2025), The Long Road (2008), and Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (2002). Hosted Synergy's acclaimed prison-set productions in London.
- Theatre503coreHost venue for There is a Field (2019) and Homecomings Festival (2017). A key venue for new writing supporting Synergy's development of ex-prisoner playwrights.
- Koestler AwardscorePartnership for prison playwriting competitions including Write Now. Readings of award-winning plays presented at Royal Court. Koestler Arts supports arts by people in the criminal justice system.
- Irene Taylor TrustminorCollaboration on productions including Fallout (2009) and A Raisin in the Sun (2016). The Irene Taylor Trust provides music in prisons and supports rehabilitation through music.
- Prisoners AbroadminorCollaboration on The Special Relationship (2020), researching and developing the play about British deportees with prison experience abroad.
- The Forgiveness ProjectminorCo-produced The Long Road (2008), which evolved from research with prisoners and victims' families about their experiences of restorative justice.
- Morley CollegecoreEducational partner providing acting courses for ex-prisoners. 75% of course completers progress to further education at the college. First collaboration began 2014.
- Royal Opera HouseminorSynergy Studio members participated in community ensemble for Dialogues des Carmélites (2014), working alongside ROH artists, chorus and orchestra for a 6-performance run.
- Bold TheatreminorPartnership for Playwright's PlayNights (June 2026) presenting new script-in-hand readings by writers with lived experience of the criminal justice system.
- Ellie Keel ProductionsminorCo-production partner for Ordinary Decent Criminal (2025) alongside Paines Plough, Live Theatre, and Theatre Royal Plymouth.
- The Hal CompanyminorLead producer for Penned Up (2025) in association with Synergy Theatre Project, a new play by Danusia Iwaszko about prison playwriting.
- V&A MuseumminorHosted new play readings responding to Disobedient Objects exhibition (2015) and Staying Power exhibition. Also hosted interactive film The Masquerade (2016).
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Synergy Theatre Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Theatre in Prisons and Probation (TPP): UK charity coordinating theatre and creative writing projects across prisons and probation. Direct peer to Synergy: works in many of the same prison sites, similar volunteer-led facilitation model, and competes for overlapping pools of arts and criminal justice funding.
- Koestler Arts: UK charity (formerly Koestler Trust) promoting arts by people in the criminal justice system, including the Koestler Awards and Write Now playwriting competition (partner of Synergy). Direct peer: same prison-arts niche, similar charity funding model, complementary rather than competing programming.
- Geese Theatre Company: UK theatre-in-education company specialising in interactive theatre for prisons, probation, and youth justice settings. Direct peer: same prison theatre focus, same training-for-professionals stream, and a comparable UK-based charity model targeting similar audiences.
- Cardboard Citizens: UK theatre company using Forum Theatre with people who have experienced homelessness, prison, and recovery. Direct peer to Synergy: both use theatre as a tool for social reintegration with marginalised populations, both produce award-winning work, both are London-based charities.
- Rideout (Creative Arts for Prisoners): UK charity producing theatre and creative projects in prisons, especially in the West Midlands. Direct peer: similar prison-theatre model, similar charity funding base, similar focus on rehabilitation through arts, but serving a different geographic region.
- Clean Break Theatre Company: UK theatre company producing work with women who have experience of the criminal justice system. Direct peer to Synergy: similar nonprofit model, similar intersection of theatre production and criminal justice engagement, similar target populations of justice-involved individuals.
- Irene Taylor Trust: UK charity delivering music projects in prisons and the community (Synergy partner on Fallout, A Raisin in the Sun). Direct peer: parallel arts-in-prisons charity using a different art form (music) with the same prison access, same rehabilitation outcomes focus.
Broad incumbents
- The National Theatre: UK's flagship publicly-funded theatre with a Learning department that engages prisons and excluded communities. Broad incumbent: overlaps with Synergy's public-engagement work but at vastly larger scale and across all theatrical forms, not specialising in criminal justice.
Others
- The Forgiveness Project: UK charity using real stories of forgiveness and restorative justice (co-produced The Long Road with Synergy in 2008). Others/adjacent: complementary criminal-justice narrative organisation rather than a theatre producer, but shares the same policy and funder ecosystem.
Emerging players
- Southwark Playhouse: London fringe theatre that has co-produced multiple Synergy productions including Lifers (2025). Emerging peer/commercial partner: operates the same London theatre space Synergy uses for mainstream runs, but its core business is independent theatrical production rather than prison arts.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Synergy Theatre Project social profiles
Digital presenceSynergy Theatre Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Synergy Theatre Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Synergy Theatre Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Synergy Theatre Project M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Synergy Theatre Project
What does Synergy Theatre Project do?
Synergy Theatre Project is a registered charity and theatre company that produces theatre productions, delivers role play and immersive training for criminal justice and related professionals, and runs rehabilitation and educational programmes for prisoners, ex-prisoners, and young people at risk of offending. The organisation also offers casting services placing ex-prisoner actors in professional theatre, film, and TV productions, and runs online digital content (Synergy at Home, PlayNights).
Is Synergy Theatre Project a public or private company?
Synergy Theatre Project is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Synergy Theatre Project founded?
Synergy Theatre Project was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Synergy Theatre Project based?
Synergy Theatre Project is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Synergy Theatre Project make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Charitable Donations and Grants are the primary driver. The others are role Play Training Services, theatre Production Revenue and film and Digital Content.
Who are Synergy Theatre Project's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Theatre in Prisons and Probation (TPP), Koestler Arts, Geese Theatre Company, Cardboard Citizens, Rideout (Creative Arts for Prisoners), Clean Break Theatre Company and Irene Taylor Trust. The National Theatre is listed as a broad incumbent. The Forgiveness Project is listed as an others. Southwark Playhouse is listed as an emerging player.
Does Synergy Theatre Project have an API?
No public API is recorded for Synergy Theatre Project.
What industry is Synergy Theatre Project in?
Synergy Theatre Project's product category is Arts Rehabilitation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGABAD, Community & Amateur Theatre, with a secondary code of EDAMAAAG, Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater). Its NAICS code is 71111 and its SIC code is 7900.