Fear of 13 was originally a memoir and then a 2015 documentary film that tells the true story of Nick Yarris, a man wrongfully incarcerated in a US penitentiary for 22 years for a murder he didn’t commit.
The adroitly written play by Lindsey Ferrentino is about many things at once – the ineptitude of an uncaring justice system, the poetry of storytelling, and how the slow pace of restitution can threaten hope and optimism. The Donmar production is skilfully directed by Justin Martin and undulates in tone and pacing to showcase these various themes, as we follow the unfolding of Yarris’ protracted struggle to exonerate himself. At times we are shocked by the silence and hopelessness of a sunless prison, in other moments we become enraptured by the promise of love, or we are joyriding in a car stolen by teenagers high on drugs.
The Donmar production features Adrien Brody as Yarris, who tells his story backwards in time, principally to Jackie, sensitively portrayed by Nana Mensah, a young poetry student and prison support visitor. Jackie keeps returning to Yarris’ cell, becoming increasingly smitten by his charm and convinced of his innocence. The action moves back and forth in time, and the prison inmates take on multiple other roles – including various policemen, lawyers, friends, and family members in Yarris’ life and his life of crime. The production offers up many surprising moments that leave a strong impression. The close harmony singing of prisoners is particularly moving, as the sweetness of their voices becomes a plea for compassion, and is a counterpoint to the bleakness of their life behind bars. The evolving relationship between Jackie and Yarris is sensitively portrayed, even as Jackie eventually loses hope and starts a new life away from Yarris. The fast changing moments are aided by a sound design and lighting that underscore the shift in tone and mood.
Twenty-two years is an unfathomable length of time to await justice, and Brody is captivating as he reveals the many layers of this complex character who we follow through multiple decades. Although a juvenile delinquent who spent much of his teens as a petty thief high on methamphetamine, Yarris educated himself in prison becoming an autodidact. But it is through the poetry of his thinking that he first connects to Jackie. Mensah also moves movingly from being flirtatious, determined, love-smitten and eventually painfully resigned to hopelessness.
The Donmar space is utilised to its maximum. The central playing area is a white raised platform surrounded by a few plain white chairs used by the audience as well as the cast. Behind the chairs runs another runway. A corridor that is seen through a window at the back becomes a prison hallway or various domestic interiors.
The final episode of the story of Yarris’ life is told when he was a 9 year old boy and we discover why he has become such an adept storyteller. A coda is a video moment with the real Yarris which adds a note of sobriety to the evening. A profound finale to a complex story about one man’s struggle to triumph over adversity.
Through Saturday 30 November
1 hour 45 minutes, without interval
Writer: Lindsey Ferrentino
Director: Justin Martin
Cast includes: Adrien Brody, Nana Mensah