Photos: Greta Zabulyte
Dramaturgy and Playwrighting: Simon Longman
Directors: Eleanor Henderson & Jason York
Designer: Lauren Connolly
Producers: Kay Michael & Annys Whyatt
Videography: Giovanni Edwards

MAGNIFY was an exciting sharing of original work devised and performed by a cast of Kestrel alumni actors at the New Diorama Theatre in August 2024. Created from scratch over a two week process, it was the end result of a creative collaboration between our Associate Artist Simon Longman and the acting company.

Kestrel alumni are men that have worked with Kestrel on a previous project – this means the Kestrel team met them while they were in prison or at risk of entering it.  They were employed professionally and paid Equity rates on this project, adhering to Kestrel’s goal to provide professional opportunities outside of prisons.

The show followed one man’s life from birth to death – the ordinary and the extraordinary, the everyday and the exceptional, all at once.  The set followed this narrative with a line of shoes at the front of the performance space from left to right, from young to old, from knitted baby boots to army boots, from sliders to slippers, as well as storage cubes adding pockets of details and props that were interacted with throughout the performance.