The Fear of 13 at Donmar Warehouse

Typically, awards season is stressful enough for any actor: jetting around the world campaigning their films in order to be considered for coveted accolades. Yet Adrien Brody, on the verge of earning his second Oscar for his unparalleled work in Brady Corbet’s third feature, decided to add a West End debut to his packed schedule – opening less than a week after the US premiere of The Brutalist at NYFF.

The Donmar Warehouse production The Fear of 13 is not only Brody’s inauguration on a London stage, it is also the first time the true story of Nick Yarris is performed for a theatre audience. American playwright Lindsey Ferrentino (Ugly Lies the Bone) cleverly adapted David Sington’s 2015 documentary about the Pennsylvanian death row inmate. Much of the play’s dialogue is taken verbatim from Yarris’s eloquent narration in the film. While the nature of the talking head set-up creates ample opportunity for a solo performance, director Justin Martin (Prima Facie) decided to work with a supporting cast for Brody, slipping in the roles of the fellow prisoners Yarris describes, attorneys and guards. Nana Mensah (recently seen on Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent) co-stars as an abolitionist volunteer, who conducts the interview that functions as a framework for the plot and becomes a vital attachment figure for the incarcerated. Brody’s charms work beyond the camera: in person, too, he knows how to make someone hang on his every word, be it the audience, or Mensah’s character.

With Donmar Warehouse seating only 250 – plus a number of standing tickets – the performance is an intimate affair. White tiles make up the floor around a shower drain and little screens display CCTV footage before the show starts, the main stage has been transformed into a cold and uncomfortable prison setting. A long glass front covers a space that doubles as part of the cells and the world outside, with alternating backdrops revealed only when lit. The catwalk that runs in between the rows of seats is also used by the actors, the world entered in these 105 minutes wholly surrounding and engulfing the crowd. When it suits the piece, for instance, the retelling of a jury trial, the people, who sit and follow the proceedings are acknowledged and made part of the play.

The amount of props is reduced to essentials, but these are concrete and crafted with vivid detail. The trays of prison food display the depictions the characters give of the slop they are made to eat, and those members in the audience who sit close enough to read the handled documents will see they reflect the exact specifics of the criminal case in question. When Yarris relays an instance of pulling threads out of his wounded feet, Brody takes off his white socks to reveal red imprints of his soles on the inside. This crisp specificity also follows through in the make-up: Brody’s arms echo Yarris’s real tattoos, and in a scene following off-stage sounds of violence, a dark smudge on his face is enough to solidify the beatings Yarris must have endured, easily removed for the next segment, but potent in its simplicity.

What makes The Fear of 13 such an enthralling and exciting new play is its manifoldness. It is a bitter critique of the American justice system, a poignant tale of star-crossed lovers and a surprisingly life-affirming journey of self-discovery all at the same time, giving its cast no reprieve. Able to carry the tonal shifts and layers, the actors in the Donmar production all display dynamic and energetic performances, while giving Brody the stage to shine.

It may come across as somewhat peculiar that a piece so inextricably tied to the United States, in content and language, down to running jokes revolving around Bed, Bath & Beyond, should see the light of day in the UK. The fact that Nick Yarris moved to England after his release, attended the play’s premiere and is given the final word to the audience sheds some light on these circumstances. Nevertheless, one can see New York theatres as a likely home for The Fear of 13 to end up in.

Selina Sondermann
Photos: Manuel Harlan

The Fear of 13 is at Donmar Warehouse from 4^th October until 30^th November 2024. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.