Escape from Pretoria review - fun but facile prison-break drama

Lightweight treatment of a true story from the apartheid era

Based on the book by former political prisoner Tim Jenkin, Escape from Pretoria is an intermittently engaging jailbreak tale set in South Africa’s apartheid regime in the 1970s, as well as further evidence of Daniel Radcliffe’s determination to run as far as possible in the opposite direction from his past life as Harry Potter. Its only problem is a troubling case of schizophrenia, since it’s not sure whether to be a pared-down thriller or a political statement.

Back to Life, BBC Three review - Daisy Haggard finds laughs in prison release

★★★★ BACK TO LIFE, BBC THREE  Another damaged woman seeking redemption

Comedy from Fleabag producers introduces another damaged woman seeking redemption

Pre-publicity for Back to Life has been all about its stablemate. This new six-part comedy comes from the same producers who brought you Fleabag, and the hope is that the Midas touch is catching. It seems unlikely, on the face of it, to follow the same path from the experimental comedy factory that is BBC Three all the way to global domination.

Inside Bitch, Royal Court review - brave, hilarious yet very slender

★★★ INSIDE BITCH, ROYAL COURT Brave, hilarious yet very slender

New show about representations of women's prisons in the media is fun but pointless

Dear Clean Break, Thank you very much for your latest, called Inside Bitch, a show which is billed as "a playfully subversive take on the representation of women in prison". It's a great celebration of your 40th anniversary. I saw this at the Royal Court tonight and I will remember it because the cast were clearly having great fun, and so was the audience. And I could see why.

Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, Young Vic review - shards of power amidst much that is overwrought

★★★ JESUS HOPPED THE 'A' TRAIN, YOUNG VIC Shards of power amidst much that is overwrought

Stephen Adly Guirgis play is best when most reflective

An entirely electric leading performance from the fast-rising Ukweli Roach is the reason for being for revisiting Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, back in London for the first major production since the late Philip Seymour Hoffman brought his acclaimed Off Broadway premiere of it to the Donmar in 2002. Since then, author Stephen Adly Guirgis has to be honest written better plays, not least the thrilling The Motherf**er with the Hat which doesn't try so hard to flag its bravura at every turn.

Escape at Dannemora, Sky Atlantic review - Ben Stiller's breakout drama impresses

★★★★ ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA, SKY ATLANTIC Ben Stiller's breakout drama impresses

Benicio del Toro, Paul Dano and Patricia Arquette glitter in grim prison drama

The facts of Escape at Dannemora (Sky Atlantic) are notorious in America. Convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Indeed a less enquiring version of the story might have been called Escape from Dannemora. But the preposition is key.

Papillon review - a not very great escape

★★★ PAPILLON Remake of Henri Charrière's story struggles to escape the shadow of the original

Remake of Henri Charrière's story struggles to escape the shadow of the original

The story of Henri Charrière’s gruelling ordeal as a prisoner in French Guiana and eventual escape was a bestseller on everyone’s bookshelf in the 1970s. It didn’t take long for it to become a Hollywood drama, which showcased the gigawatt talents of Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.

Innocent, ITV review - David Collins wants his life back

INNOCENT, ITV David Collins wants his life back

Wronged husband and father battles to make it right

Addressing the baying media on the steps of the courthouse after being acquitted of murdering his wife, for which non-crime he’d spent the last seven years in prison, David Collins (Lee Ingleby) was a bitter and angry man. He wanted to expose the people who’d fitted him up, he wanted his children back, and he aimed to find out who really killed his wife Tara.

Building the Wall, Park Theatre review - the nature of nightmare

★★★★ BUILDING THE WALL, PARK THEATRE Different Americas clash in engrossing two-hander

Different Americas clash in engrossing two-hander set in Texas prison

Writer Robert Schenkkan’s Building the Wall imagines modern America in the not-too-distant future. The date is 22nd November 2019 and following an attack on Times Square in which 17 people were killed, martial law has been imposed. Demands for illegal immigrants to be thrown out of the country have resulted in mass round ups and swollen detention centres. Hysteria stalks the country.