Why Alcotraz has sparked outrage before even opening in Australia – as UK bar makes the move to Down Under

A new bar has sparked outrage before it even opened as customers and staff were asked to dress like prisoners.

Alcotraz – a play about the infamous American prison Alcatraz – will open in Melbourne in June and promises an ‘immersive cocktail experience like no other’.

Customers have to ‘smuggle’ their own alcohol past staff posing as ‘corrupt guards’ so they can have a cocktail mixed by bartenders posing as prisoners.

Visitors are also given orange jumpsuits to wear while sipping cocktails behind the bars of mock prison cells.

Marketing company Fever, which works with British company Inventive Productions, explained that the bar’s concept represented the “Hollywood-style story” of prisons.

Customers must dress in orange prison-style jumpsuits and ‘smuggle’ their own alcohol into the bar past staff posing as ‘corrupt guards’

In a joint statement, the companies said the bar was a “subtle” reference to American cult films and TV shows such as Shawshank Redemption and Orange is the New Black.

“The Alcotraz theatrical experience aims to give guests the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a fictional, Hollywood-style story, which is in no way based on the real issues and harsh realities of today’s prison system,” it said.

Alcotraz faced strong backlash for fetishizing “misfortune” after opening several locations in Britain, and faced similar criticism in Australia.

Australian charity National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls released a statement on Tuesday labeling Alcotraz as “disturbingly insensitive” for downplaying the harsh realities of prison.

The charity also called on the public to boycott Alcotraz and reject “any establishment that seeks to profit from the exploitation” of oppression.

National Network member and activist Tabitha Lean said the bar was a ‘slap in the face’ for people traumatized and abused by the prison system.

“Prisons are places of immense pain and suffering, especially for Aboriginal people who experience higher rates of incarceration and deaths in custody,” she said.

“Turning this into a theme for a bar is a slap in the face to those who have experienced real trauma and atrocities.”

Ms Lean added that the insensitivity of the bar’s concept was increased by opening its doors on stolen Aboriginal lands.

‘Alcotraz has to read the room. They build their business on land owned by the very communities ravaged by prisons,” Ms Lean said.

“The whole idea of ​​a prison-themed bar on land a history of dispossession and continued oppression of indigenous communities is abhorrent.”

National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls advocate Tabitha Lean (left) called on the public to boycott the bar. Chief executive of Sisters Inside and National Network member Debbie Kilroy (right) said the bar turned incarceration into a form of entertainment for ‘privileged white people’

Debbie Kilroy, CEO of Sisters Inside and member of the National Network, said the bar was intended to turn incarceration into a form of entertainment.

“Alcotraz’s attempt to turn incarceration into a form of entertainment is a gross minimization of the suffering endured by people who have been criminalized,” Ms. Kilroy said.

“Creating a space where people can pay to pretend they are prisoners is not only restrictive, but also incredibly disrespectful.”

Ms Kilroy branded the concept “grotesque” because it allowed “privileged white people” to pretend they were prisoners while others continued to suffer behind bars.

“Alcotraz isn’t just in bad taste; it shows a fundamental disregard for the lived experiences of people who have suffered and continue to suffer harm at the hands of the prison system,” Ms Kilroy said.

‘Prison is not a game; it is cruel, brutal and all too often a life-threatening reality. Privileged white people cosplaying as prisoners for fun while real people suffer is just grotesque.”

Alcotraz, a play about the notoriously brutal Alcatraz prison in the United States, is the brainchild of marketing company Fever and British company Inventive Productions

Inventive Productions and Fever explained that the bar’s concept represented the “Hollywood-style story” of prisons and was a “subtle” representation of cult American TV and cinema, including Orange is the New Black and Shawshank Redemption

A spokesperson for Fever and Inventive Productions explained that it also has a partnership with Innocence Project London.

Innocence Project London is a charity committed to preventing miscarriages of justice and investigating cases of convicted people who have maintained their innocence but have exhausted the criminal appeals process.

“The partnership demonstrates its commitment to educating and enriching its customers and communities on issues relevant to their immersive experiences,” the spokesperson shared. The guard.

“Inventive Productions remains sensitive to the real-world issues that can come with such stories and evaluates how we can best support those around us.”

The number of Australian prisoners increased by three percent in the 12 months from mid-2022 to mid-2023.