But we don’t hear another voice, or indeed see another face, I think, throughout the duration of the work. It’s not a single-shot performance, however: visual elements – scenes of prison interiors, the story of Yarris’s escape, episodes from his youth, and the changing circumstances of his life in prison – are intercut in hauntingly spare images, while elements of sound and music, though used sparingly too, add considerable impact. It’s the eternal paradox of documentary – the distinction between reality and artificeīecause the first and most striking thing here is the sheer professionalism of the “performance”: the combination and variety of timbre and rhythm is utterly gripping, which puts the result right up there with the best theatrical monologues ( Harry Lloyd in Notes from Underground comes to mind from recent such offerings). But is it a final interview given before that execution, or his story reprised in the words of an actor? The monologue that follows is the story of Nick Yarris, recounted in his own words we’re told that the testimony has been verified. The mystery starts with the opening screen title that tells us that, after two decades on America’s Death Row, a convicted murderer has petitioned the court that his sentence be carried out – that he be executed. Over the hour-and-a-half of its run, it has us readjusting our perceptions on that score, as well as teasing us slowly towards understanding its subject.
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