New hard-hitting play about suicide in prison stars real-life ex-offenders

Scottish Sun

18 hours ago

'When I heard there was a over 40 per cent increase in suicides in Scottish prisons, I gasped. It wasn't good enough and it never left me'
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DEATHS in Scottish prisons are amongst the highest in Europe after increasing by 60 per cent in the past year, a recent report revealed.
The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research found 64 people died in jail in 2024 - up from 40 in 2023 - with 17 of those deaths apparent suicides.
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Ex-offenders Duncan Stewart and David Ross play cellmates Shug and Rambo.
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All the cast together at The Fort Theatre in Glasgow where they are staging Fever.
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Fever is written by Gemma Muir, who was triggered by the high rates of suicide behind bars in Scottish jails.
Professor Sarah Armstrong. who led the research for Glasgow University, stated the figures were 'unprecedented'.
Chief Features Writer MATT BENDORIS speaks to Natalie Logan, who lost her own dad to suicide in jail, about a new play that aims to turn the spotlight on the blight going on behind bars with a new play called Fever.
FEVER is the elation that prisoners feel in the build-up to the day they are set free - but this play was written out of sheer shock at the appalling rates of suicide behind bars.
Natalie Logan runs the charity Sisco which works hand-in-hand with the Scottish Prison Service to help offenders return to society.
But her community manager Gemma Muir was inspired to put pen to paper after a visit to Barlinnie where she discovered The Scottish Prison Service's Talk to Me suicide prevention strategy had failed - with a 42 per cent rise in suicides since the scheme was introduced in 2016.
Gemma, 39, from Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, said: 'Before I started working with Sisco I was very much of the mindset that if you do the crime you do the time.
'But when I started my training the facts and figures that were trotted out from the work book were pretty triggering for me.
'When I heard there was a over 40 per cent increase in suicides in Scottish prisons, I gasped. It wasn't good enough and it never left me.'
Four years on it has led to Gemma's first play Fever, following the stories of cellmates Shug and Rambo as they prepare for release.
Every actor in the production, which begins a three night run at Bishopbrigg's Fort Theatre from tonight (July 31), are ex-offenders including including Glaswegians Duncan Stewart, 64, from Possilpark, who plays Shug and David Ross, 53, from Springburn, who portrays Rambo.
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Natalie and Gemma and the rest of the team hear stories like theirs all the time at the Sisco Recovery Cafes they run both inside and outside of Scotland's jails.
Duncan said: 'I was first put in the care system when I was 10. That escalated to approved schools, then jail.
' But about 10 years ago I met Natalie and I started getting off my heroin, my crack, my spice, my methadone, my booze. I was still smoking cannabis, but I don't do that now.
'What changed for me? My attitude, I didn't care about myself. But I found people that gave me tools to start caring about myself.
'It took me about seven and a half years for the penny to drop, but they never once asked me to leave.'
Asked how he's adapted to being an actor, Duncan just laughs: 'We've been actors our whole life - we knew how to lie and cheat.
'I didn't know it then but that's the same as acting. But then these women took a leap of faith to put me in a play to do it for real.'
David also found himself in the care system from a young age, but admits acting out his character Rambo's suicidal thoughts was personally a tough ask.
He said: 'I had a similar experience with my last sentence. I was suicidal.
'If it wasn't for me having these people that cared for me, then I might not be here today.
'But we just want to get the message out there that there are other options. That there's always hope - you just need to talk to somebody.'
Every scene in Fever is also based on real-life scenarios experienced by all the cast.
Natalie, 46, from Springburn said: 'The importance of having lived-experienced actors is we didn't want any of the play to be superficial, fabricated or untrue.
'We wanted it to be as gritty and real as possible and to leave people questioning, does the Scottish Prison Service work?
'Ultimately, at the moment, they don't do enough because they don't have adequate resources to support people.'
The mum-of-two has skin in the game after her dad Stephen Logan took his life in jail in 1986. She called her charity Sisco as it was his nickname.
She said: 'My father was on suicide watch. Now the bottom line is if someone is on suicide watch you would assume that your family member is in a place of safety.
'A fatal accident inquiry found there was no accountability. Nothing's changed since then almost 40 years on.
REVIEW OF NEW PRISON PLAY FEVER
FEVER starts with Shug and his 'co-pilot' (cellmate) Rambo getting on each other's nerves.
The play follows all their ups and downs from the excitement building to their release, to their hopes and fears over their family relationships down to where they are going to stay.
But it doesn't skirt over their rampant drug taking and dealing behind bars with Rambo's kid sister sneaking his supply in during visiting time.
There are plenty of laughs too, like the moment Shug says it's 'Willy Wallace day' because he's getting his 'freedom!'
It all builds to a Sliding Doors-style climax where Rambo - immediately rearrested after release - can take no more and decides to end his life, alone in his cell.
Members of the audience, who were themselves ex-offenders or their families, were in floods of tears.
But it ends with an alternative scenario when an upbeat letter from Shug saves the day with Rambo deciding to get back on the straight and narrow, leaving us all with hope.
MATT BENDORIS
'Although they're in prison, they're not all bad people. Yes, we have a small cohort of really, really bad people that absolutely should be in prison.
'But I just wish policy makers would come to see this play to see what's going on inside the Scottish Prison Service because if nothing it done then the next set of suicide figures are going to be truly eye-watering.'
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: 'Our staff work hard to support and protect vulnerable people in our care, including in moments of crisis in their lives.
'Following recent Fatal Accident Inquiry determinations, we have committed to delivering rapid and systemic change, which will be enduring and impactful and also look at ways in which we can go beyond them, help our staff build positive relationships with people in custody, particularly those who might be vulnerable, and keep them safe.
'This includes an overhaul of Talk To Me, our suicide prevention programme, based on the advice of independent experts.'