Theatre that speaks, listens and heals
This is a guest blog by Amy Enticknap, Co-Founder and Creative Producer of Human Story Theatre.
Human Story Theatre’s new play ALL OF US, by award-winning writer Rebecca Abrams, explores restorative justice through real stories and post-show dialogue, highlighting the power of theatre to open conversations, build empathy and inspire change.
At Human Story Theatre (HST), we believe that theatre is more than entertainment – it is a catalyst for connection, a space where stories can open doors, provoke questions, and shift perspectives. Our new production, ALL OF US, invites audiences into this space – to witness, reflect, and engage.
Based on a true story, ALL OF US follows three members of a family devastated by patricide and incarceration as they embark on a nine-month restorative justice process. The play’s focus, unusually, is on the nine-month journey leading up to the first meeting between victim and offender, rather than the meeting itself – revealing the emotional complexity, hesitation, and courage that define this stage of repair. The play premiered in New Zealand in 2023 with core funding from the New Zealand Ministry of Justice. HST is now excited to be bringing ALL OF US to a UK audience for the first time.
As the play’s writer, Rebecca Abrams, explains, restorative justice is “not about locking people up and locking everything away… it’s about unlocking the possibilities of meeting ourselves and others.”
We are currently fundraising and will be bringing a one-off staged-reading of the play to a venue in London in April 2026, as a fundraising event. The plan is to then tour the production in Spring 2027. We’d love to hear from you if you’re interested in collaborating or supporting, so please do get in touch (amy@humanstorytheatre.com).
Why theatre?
Theatre has a unique power. On stage we bring real lived experience into a shared room; the shared light, the shared breath, the silent moments between lines – all combine to create an immersive encounter. When a story like ALL OF US steps into the auditorium, or community space, the effect is intimate and powerful: we are not just observing, we are invited in. We ask: What would I feel? What would I say? Theatre thus becomes a space for both witnessing and participating.
Restorative justice is often carried out in private rooms, facilitated conversations, quiet shifts of understanding. ALL OF US brings that process to public view – not to sensationalise, but to humanise. It shows how, through facilitated dialogue, people who are hurting and people who have caused hurt can begin to engage, not as anonymous figures in a system, but as complex human beings. It shows the ripple-effects of harm and the tentative emergence of repair. As Jim Simon, Chief Executive Officer of the Restorative Justice Council, said of Punch by James Graham, the play “left me walking out of the theatre thinking not just about the tragedy of a single punch, but about the quiet miracle of restorative justice – the kind of human repair that’s almost never shown truthfully in the media.”
Our aims at Human Story Theatre
At HST we focus on new writing and original theatrical performance because we believe it can raise awareness of health and social-care issues, spark community dialogue, and strengthen networks of support. Each of our performances is designed to:
– reach new audiences in community centres, libraries and theatres;
– act as a catalyst to unite communities;
– signpost to local resources and partner organisations;
– engage audiences in partner-led post-show Q&As, discussions and debates.
With ALL OF US, our ambition is to help bring restorative justice into the cultural mainstream – to open up the conversation on repair, accountability and human dignity.
Post-show discussion: putting the dialogue into the room
Integral to the production (as with all HST shows) is our commitment to follow each performance with a live panel discussion featuring speakers from our main partner, the Restorative Justice Council UK, and from our supporting organisations: Why me?, The Mint House Oxford, and The Forgiveness Project.
These post-show conversations give audience members the chance to reflect, ask questions, and engage directly with practitioners, lived-experience voices and community organisations. We believe this is one of theatre’s greatest strengths: the opportunity to mobilise reflection into action, to move from “I watched” to “I am thinking / I might act”.
Audience feedback about HST (Oct 2025):
Absolutely phenomenal.
The writing. The acting. The music. The content.
Powerful. Impactful. Emotional.
That kind of response is what drives us. We believe theatre can be a starting point for change. It can provoke discomfort, stir empathy and catalyse connection. ALL OF US asks us to sit in the space between hurt and healing, to witness the possibilities of repair, and to leave with something stirred.
We are delighted to be working with our partner organisations, and together, we hope to build richer, more human conversations about justice, accountability and community. We hope to shine a light on what restorative justice can mean – for individuals, families and society.
About the Author
Amy Enticknap is the Co-Founder and Creative Producer of Human Story Theatre (HST), an Oxford-based company creating new writing and original performances that explore pressing health and social issues through powerful, accessible storytelling.
You can contact Amy at amy@humanstorytheatre.com and find out more on their Instagram @humanstorytheatre or website: www.humanstorytheatre.com.
