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Interviews
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Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen - Theatre That Can Save Lives Philip Fisher talks to the creators of The Exonerated. On rare occasions, theatre can change people's lives; The Exonerated could actually save some. This may sound like publicity hype but, in fact, after seeing the play, the outgoing Governor of Illinois commuted every death sentence in the state citing The Exonerated as "one of the things that moved me" to do so. It has also created much press debate on the subject. This is a show that ran off Broadway in New York for two years and 600 plus performances, starting in 2002. It is now playing at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh with an eye on a transfer to London's West End. This powerful piece must be politically and sociologically the most important drama currently playing in Edinburgh and almost nothing else in the UK can challenge it. The play tells the stories of six people who between them spent over 100 years on Death Row awaiting execution. It is written by an attractive young husband and wife team, actors Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, using the prisoners' own words. In each case, these people were ultimately exonerated, or cleared of the offences that they had allegedly committed. The Exonerated relates the stories of how these victims were wrongly accused and despite its humour, does not make for cheerful viewing. Prejudice is rife, both racial and class-related, and the American legal authorities are shown in a very poor light, keener to clear a case than check the facts. The staging of the play is dramatic but also commercially brilliant. While seven of the ten cast members are a constant, the other three rotate. This allows the producers to introduce star names that have included Richard Dreyfus, Tim Robbins, Aidan Quinn (who will be in Edinburgh) and Jeff Goldblum to appear for a few weeks. It has also allowed special performances "starring" the real people playing themselves. The show has already won numerous awards, including a Champion of Justice Award for its creative team. This more normally goes to lawyers or campaigners and had never previously been won by a theatre company. The most poignant story is that of Sunny Jacobs, a lady whose words have now been spoken by, amongst others, Mia Farrow, Kathleen Turner, Lynn Redgrave and Sex and the City's Kristin Davis. In Edinburgh Sunny Jacobs very movingly plays herself. Erik Jensen, who has also appeared on stage in Edinburgh, and his wife Jessica Blank have kindly taken time out to discuss the phenomenon that is The Exonerated with BTG. The project started as a result of a conference in early 2000. As Miss Blank explains: "We had been dating for about one month when I dragged Erik kicking and screaming to a Death Penalty Conference. We heard about the Death Row Ten in Illinois who were falsely convicted after torture by a corrupt policeman. The policeman was freed but the prisoners were still on Death Row". The organisers had staged a telephone call with one of the ten in prison. "Everyone was crying. Erik and I started exchanging notes wondering what we could do, like kids at the back of class". The couple were already beginning a process to establish "What can we do to bring this immediate and profound experience to people who wouldn't usually be interested in the subject matter?" As actors, their immediate answer was to write a play. Soon they had 400 pages of interview transcripts and began to construct their script. According to Jensen, "It mostly started because I was tired of yelling at the TV set. I was told that art could affect public policy and thought that this was an opportunity to do that. Initially, we hoped that we might fill a 99 seat theatre for two weeks". His wife adds, "We had no idea that it would snowball and be so optimistic. We first expected anger and rage like Hamlet but we found real survivors". They took the idea to Allan Buchman who runs the 45 Bleecker Street Theater and he offered them a two or three night run at the time of the November elections. Their expectation was that they could fill the theatre with friends and interested parties. However, the director that they approached, having worked with him in the past, was Bob Balaban. He talked about the project with friends and soon announced that Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon wanted to appear. This was the point at which the idea of rotating the three central parts came about. The focus on the big names misses the fact that many of the core cast members have been with the company since the play was first workshopped and are now in Edinburgh. In many ways, the writers believe that they are more important than the stars who flit in briefly. The idealistic Jensen has no doubt about the reason for their project's success. "The reason this worked and has benefited all of the people involved is because there is something larger than us at work. Also, we didn't have success in mind. Being actors, we didn't have the professional playwright's attitude. Stories are deeply, deeply important to us. We just wanted to be ethical and honest and tell the story". Miss Blank takes over and makes it clear that they believe that this show is just as relevant in Britain even though the death penalty has been abolished here long ago. "The play must be seen on this side of the Atlantic. Our legal system is contrary to the constitution but people here should see it now because it shows what happens when you let fear rule you. You must let your values overcome that fear". The point that the couple is keen to emphasise, citing the recent case of the Brazilian mistakenly shot dead in London, is that "It is comfortable to close your eyes and trust the authorities. We must be vigilant about the truth". The husband and wife team are pleased that The Exonerated is helping to make a difference but cynical about how much impact it can have in the current US political system. "In the USA, we are fooling ourselves if we think we are actually electing someone qualified to be president. Anyone smart enough and human enough could not be elected". The reason that this cannot happen in their eyes is that "Smart people change their minds and think on many levels. Those are qualities that look like weakness and get defeated in election campaigns". The couple really believe that The Exonerated can change minds. They keep a couple of seats free in every performance in case George and Laura Bush decide to roll up. So far, they have remained empty but who knows?
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