Review: Lifers (Southwark Playhouse Borough)

Review by Lily Melhuish

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Evan Placey’s new play Lifers asks what happens when your final days are spent behind bars, and the only person you’ve got is a prison officer under orders to keep their distance. Family, friends, doctors, nurses, social workers; these are the people we expect to rely on. But in HMP Drummond, the fictional facility where Lifers unfolds, those comforts are locked away.

We're swiftly introduced to our mischievous musketeers, and resident OAPs (Old-Age Prisoners, in this case), mid-poker game. Our main protagonist Lenny, played by Peter Wright, isn’t following the game or conversation quite as efficiently as his opponents. His memory is slipping, and over the course of the play, so does his health. What follows is a sobering look at end-of-life care in prison: callous, convoluted, and often cruel.

Integral to Lenny’s survival is Mark (James Backway), a young prison officer with the wide-eyed idealism and naivety of someone fresh out of training. The two form an uncommon bond, mostly down to the fact that, in his vulnerable state, Lenny repeatedly confuses Mark for his own son. Mark, driven by a desire to help, leans into the confusion. But are his sympathies misplaced? As Sonya, the prison’s doctor, aptly puts it: “You have a duty of care, not a duty to care.”

Wright gives a compelling, layered performance. There’s a fury bubbling beneath Lenny’s surface that erupts at just the right moments, keeping us hooked and hinting at the crime that put him away 17 years ago. He’s supported by fellow Lifers Norton (Sam Cox) and Baxter (Ricky Fearon), who bring a mix of menace and mischief. They’re restricted by age, yes, but their pasts are anything but tame. These aren’t just cheeky old men playing cards; they’re inmates with history, and it’s never quite clear who’s bluffing.

Cox and Fearon spar with delightful playfulness, and under Esther Baker’s direction, their scenes crackle with tension. Their relationships are deep but volatile, friendships forged in confinement, and always on the brink of betrayal. Their banter shines when it’s sharp and character-driven, but falters when it leans on tired tropes. A scene where Norton grumbles nonsensically about vapes and avocados feels like cheap gags for a character who later proves capable of much richer comedy. Still, the audience laughed, so maybe I’m the old fogey who needs to lighten up.

The plot is clever and keeps you guessing, but occasionally races ahead when it could linger in silence and allow the audience to linger in the discomfort. Sonya (Mona Goodwin) often feels like a plot device rather than a fully fleshed-out character. Her dialogue with Mark is clunky, and their friendship is unconvincing, serving only to move the story forward. Where Goodwin excels is in her monologues, particularly one detailing the cost of sending a prisoner to an external medical appointment. It’s delivered with frustration and clarity, raising the uncomfortable question: when resources are stretched, whose life gets prioritised?

The staging is tight, as most of the action takes place in a single cell, which presents obvious challenges. Baker does her best to keep things moving, but long, static scenes of poker and medical check-ins mean some audience members were likely watching the backs of actors’ heads. A shame, given the strength of the performances.

In its final act, Lifers veers into territory that feels a little too extreme, perhaps in an effort to hammer home its message. It asks big questions about justice, care, and dignity, but sometimes rushes to answer them. Give your audience more credit. The story is strong, and I only wish the script had trusted itself, and us, to sit with the ambiguity.

Lifers doesn’t just explore what it means to grow old in prison; it interrogates what it means to be human when the world has already judged you. It’s a production that rattles the bars of morality, and leaves you wondering: who gets to die with dignity, and who’s left serving time?

Lifers plays at Southwark Playhouse Borough until October 25th

For tickets and information visit https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/lifers/

Photos by Rich Southgate