The Forgiveness Project

We are delighted to report that the first half of this year has brought us some exciting updates and opportunities. We are, as always, grateful for the generous outpouring of support that has allowed these to happen!

Since our previous report, there have been some incredible developments in the production of PUNCH, a play adapted by James Graham from the memoir of storyteller Jacob Dunne. On Monday, March 24th, our Executive Director, Sandra Barefoot, storyteller, Joan Scourfield, and Creative Strategist, Jacob Dunne were invited to an event at the Houseof Commons in London, UK, in celebration of the play. Hosted by Labour MP for Nottingham South, Lilian Greenwood, the event highlighted the immense power of storytelling in raising the profile of significant issues, suchrestorative justice, which is the central theme of the play. It was also a fantasticopportunity to discuss the power of the arts as a whole.

The reception followed a special post-show discussion entitled Living Well: Beyond the Tragedy, which took place on March 11th at the Young Vic in London, England. The conversation explored resilience, transformation, and the ways people find meaning after profound loss and adversity. It also delved into the ripple effects of harm, showing how trauma affects families, communities, and generations. The panel was facilitated by our Executive Director, Sandra Barefoot who, alongside Jacob, who was joined by storytellers Anne-Marie Cockburn and Dunia Shafik.

These celebrations of PUNCH’s success come in light of the amazing news that the will be transferring to the Apollo Theatre on London’s West End from the 22nd of September through to the 29th of November of this year. This coincides with its premiere on Broadway, New York, where it will open during the Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2025-2026 season this Autumn.

Recently, our Executive Director, Sandra Barefoot, joined Jacob on an episode of his podcast called Right or Wrong. Together they discussed the power of storytelling and the “life-changing work” of The Forgiveness Project’s RESTORE Prison Programme, which is where Jacob was first to find his voice and purpose. Through recounting Jacob’s early days following release from incarceration, the two discuss why vulnerability is so hard in places like prison, how breaking down emotional walls can lead to real change, and how storytelling allows people to own their experiences and gain greater insight of how to make changes in their lives.

We are delighted to announce that Sandra and Anne-Marie Cockburn recently delivered the first RESTORE session since the COVID-19 Pandemic to a group of seven women at HMP Eastwood Park, England.

We also have a new storyteller in our community: At the age of 22 Julie Lambert caused an accident which seriously injured her friend, John (not his real name). Later she was sued for negligence in a civil lawsuit that lasted two years. You can read her story on our website.

This Spring, we also delivered the first and second sessions of our Forgiveness Café community initiative. We would like to thank all of the participants who joined us for the pilot of this Café, and we were very moved by the range and depth of lived experience that was brought to the gathering.

We are also delighted to announce that we recently secured funding from the Westway Trust for a new outreach project taking place in and around the Grenfell community in North Kensington, London. There have been many systemic injustices in North Kensington, concerning environmental quality, education, policing, institutional racism and the Grenfell Tower fire. We have the pleasure of working alongside a Community Development Worker who has lived knowledge and understanding of these issues, who has also been essential in securing this grant for us and identifying our two primary focus groups; women and mothers, and young men. We are due to begin this work this Autumn.