Powerful Death Row Drama at Questors

Rarely performed play The Exonerated to be perfomed in Ealing

This Exonerated is a powerful piece of verbatim theatre that tells the stories of six American death row prisoners in their own words. The play is rarely performed in this country, and has attracted interest from well beyond Ealing.

A number of organisations who support prisoners on death row are planning to attend.

Can you image being locked in a cell on death row, waiting to be executed, knowing you are innocent?

This was the nightmare facing six American prisoners, before it was demonstrated that each was the victim of a terrible miscarriage of justice.

After years living in fear of the electric chair, or death by lethal injection, they were finally set free. But resuming their lives was not easy.

Their true stories are told in The Exonerated, a play written by two young American actors, Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen. They travelled across the United States talking to released prisoners, and wrote a play from their interviews and court transcripts.

The play was originally performed in the United States in 2002, and Hollywood actors queued up to take the roles. It is just as relevant today, with nearly three thousand prisoners currently on death row, awaiting execution.

Since 1973, one-hundred-and-fifty-six death row prisoners have been exonerated, after their cases were re-opened. This is seen by many people as a powerful argument against capital punishment.

The Questors production of The Exonerated is being directed by Peter Gould, who reported on the criminal justice system for the BBC for many years.

“The stories of the six prisoners in this play are extraordinary, but by no means unique,” he says.

“The first problem faced by prisoners on death row is finding a lawyer willing to take their case. And even then, the legal process can take years.

“What is extraordinary is that when you meet these exonerated prisoners, they are not full of anger or bitterness, as you might image.

“They know that a desire for revenge can be very destructive, and will prevent them moving on with their lives. Most remain positive; they find strength through forgiveness.”

As part of the rehearsal process, the actors in the Ealing production have researched these six death row stories, and the cases of other prisoners that have emerged since the play was written.

One such case involves Thomas Arthur, a prisoner on death row in Alabama, who is trying to prove his innocence. He is running out of time, because he is due to be executed on November 3rd, midway through the play’s run.

“I am innocent of this crime,” he says in a six-page letter to the theatre.

“Please help me if you can. If enough people in the world raise hell, the judges in the US will listen. Hopefully, in time to stop me being killed.”

The arrival of a letter from death row startled the cast and crew of the Questors production.

“It is a chilling thought that someone could be executed during the run of our play,” says Peter Gould.

“People obviously have different views about the death penalty. But these stories will really make you think.”

The Exonerated by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

In the Studio at The Questors Theatre, 28 October – 5 November

26th October 2016