Aug 2, 2022 - Things to Do

Play critiques solitary confinement

Annalise Frank,
Alexa Mencia

"The Bo" actors are shown in cells stacked on each other on stage. — The premiere of "The Box" in San Francisco in 2016. Photo courtesy of End of Isolation Tour

"The Box," an immersive play about solitary confinement in prisons, is coming to Detroit next week.

Driving the news: The play's cast members — several of whom were formerly incarcerated — are touring across the country this summer. Audiences in 10 cities are invited to imagine an end to the use of isolation as punishment, Axios Philadelphia's Alexa Mencia writes.

The big picture: Playwright Sarah Shourd — who was held for 410 days in an Iranian prison — told Truthout the play is visiting states "on the front lines" of the fight to ban or limit the use of solitary confinement.

Advocates in Michigan have been pushing prisons to use it much less frequently, and to completely end its use on vulnerable people, the Free Press reported last year.

If you go: Aug. 9 and 10, 7:30pm at The Jam Handy. Tickets start at $20.

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Play critiques solitary confinement

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