Acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Dennis Kelly is set to challenge television conventions with his forthcoming BBC drama, 'Waiting for the Out'. The series, premiering in January on BBC One and iPlayer, promises a starkly authentic and contemplative look at life behind bars, born from Kelly's own experiences with fear and a compelling real-life memoir.
The Personal Fears Behind the Prison Walls
In a candid discussion, Kelly disclosed that the central, hidden theme of Waiting for the Out is fear. This revelation connects directly to the writer's personal history. "I spent the first 30 years of my life utterly fucking terrified but always pretending I wasn't scared," Kelly admitted. He described a pervasive anxiety about others' opinions, physical safety, and his own identity, which he masked until addressing his alcoholism and achieving sobriety 25 years ago.
This understanding of male vulnerability profoundly shaped his view of the prison system during research. "I'm always amazed by how many of those big scary blokes doing hard time are really just terrified little boys," Kelly observed, emphasising this is an explanation, not an excuse, for criminal actions.
From Philosophy Teacher to Screen: Adapting a True Story
The series is adapted from Andy West's memoir 'The Life Inside', which details his experiences teaching philosophy in prisons. The show's protagonist, Dan (played by Josh Finan), is heavily inspired by West, a man from a working-class London background who broke a familial cycle of incarceration through education.
Kelly, who shares a similar working-class, London upbringing with Irish immigrant parents, felt a deep connection to West's story of navigating different worlds. "He upends your prejudices," Kelly said of West. "His existence is a challenge to some of the things you didn't even know you thought but you really fucking do." While based on truth, the drama introduces a fictional element where Dan becomes dangerously fixated on finding his absent, imprisoned father.
Creating a New Kind of Prison Drama
Determined to move beyond stereotypical, high-tension prison narratives, Kelly sought a more meditative and truthful portrayal. His research took him to institutions including Grendon, Isis, and Belmarsh. "The truth is that a lot of what prison is about is waiting," he explained. The series aims to capture that slow, simmering reality of confinement.
This vision is supported by director Jeanette Nordahl (The Responder), who employs a still, patient style, and by writer Ric Renton, who contributed his real-life experience of serving hard time. Renton even performs a powerful monologue about release drawn from his own life.
Despite the series resolving Dan's story, Kelly remains characteristically pragmatic about its future, wryly noting his history with shows ending after two series. His focus remains on writing with integrity, a principle he has held since the start of his career, through hits like Matilda and cult series Utopia and Pulling.
'Waiting for the Out' arrives as a thoughtful counterpoint to fast-paced television, inviting audiences to sit with complex questions of fear, class, and redemption within the UK's penal system.
