Donmar Warehouse, London – until 30th November 2024
Reviewed by Celia Armand Smith
5*****
The Fear of 13 is one of those stories that seems completely implausible but is in fact astonishingly true. Based on David Singleton’s 2015 documentary of the same name, The Fear of 13 is Lindsey Ferrentino’s new play about a man stopped for running a red light at the age of 21, and then through a series of incredible events, accidentally ends up being sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit.
Nick Yarris, played by Adrien Brody (in his West End debut), spends over 25 years on death row before DNA evidence finally finds him innocent. During his time in prison he meets Jackie, a prison volunteer and poetry student, who he instantly feels a connection with and to whom he can finally tell his story. Adrien Brody’s portrayal of Yarris is one of humour and fragility as he narrates his life and how he has ended up in prison. Nana Mensah as Jackie is the heart of the show, questioning and kind, while trapped in a different sort of isolation.
Directed by Justin Martin, who also recently directed the West End production of another miscarriage of justice drama, Prima Facie, the cast make use of every corner of the Donmar’s confined space. The play runs for 105 minutes without an interval and the writing is captivating and keeps my attention throughout.
Supporting Brody and Mensah, are a hyper-talented cast who effortlessly switch between inmate, warden, lawyer, teenage friends and more, sitting amongst the audience at the front, hopping on and off the stage. Posi Morakinyo, Cyril Nri, Ferdy Roberts, Tommy Sim’aan, and Michael Fox all punctuate the plot with beautiful , haunting harmonies as they imitate the prison choir. Aiden Kelly is a warden who shows the classic prison brutality but there are glimmers of kindness too. The final member of the cast is Miriam Buether’s extraordinary set, creating magic behind a glass screen that is all at once a prison visiting booth, Jackie’s kitchen, and a Christmassy backdrop for a painful conversation with a lawyer. Ian Dickinson’s clanking soundscape teams masterfully with Jon Clark’s lighting, giving a fully unrelenting sense of prison life. There are also several costume changes which amount to wizardry.
After the curtain call, there is a video message from Yarris himself revealing that it is all a true story, something you may know if you’ve seen the documentary. It is a heart wrenching exploration of bad decisions and a seemingly endless wait for justice that has you hanging on until the end. The whole cast is superb, and it is well worth a ticket (if you can get one).