Back to browse
0% Critic Match
Hardwicke Circus: The Prison Gig
“Hi, criminals!”
0.0 / 10• 2023• 14m•NR• English
DocumentaryMusic
Storyline
A short, low-budget documentary that follows a small jobbing band from the north of England called 'Hardwicke Circus' as they perform a gig and music workshop at 'Standford Hill HMP', a men's prison on the Isle of Sheppey in the south of England. Shot in Ben Archer's fly-on-the-wall 'gonzo' style of filmmaking and taken from the band's late-2019 tour of England's south coast, this documentary focuses on the joy of performance and music in an environment that does not often allow such expression. Bookended by short commentary from the band's lead singer Jonny Foster, 'Hardwicke Circus: The Prison Gig' is an uplifting ode to the power and necessity of art, even for those that society have deemed not to deserve it.
What People Are Saying
0.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Ben Archer's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
3.0
“Every frame feels alive. Hardwicke Circus: The Prison Gig is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
