Creating theatre inside a women’s prison can be daunting at first but for Kharen Harper, who has been working with inmates for almost two decades, “it was just like working anywhere else…. except for these people were in extreme circumstances.”
It is Harper’s work with Somebody’s Daughter theatre company in correctional institutions, as well as her work with marginalised young people; children in foster care; and elderly survivors of Melbourne orphanages that has won her the prestigious Ros Bower Award. The award is given to somebody who has made a significant contribution to community arts and cultural development.
