Six people are wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit. The notion that these convictions occur more often than they should is, at times, incomprehensible – but the raw drama of The Exonerated holds this jarring reality up to our faces, inviting us to examine its effects and the durability of the human spirit.
Andrei Schiller-Chan’s acclaimed play shifts between the monologues of the stellar cast, who breathe life into outstanding, complicated characters: real people, offering the tales of their wrongful convictions. They tell of hope in a hopeless situation and recovery from unfathomable trauma in such an affecting and visceral way that you’ll be hard pressed to feel boredom. All performances were nuanced, flawless and entertaining in that slightly unhinged way for which the subject matter begs. Above all, the stories and sequences of The Exonerated were simple and candid, demanding your attention on an emotional level and inviting you to spend a few hours dwelling on it later.
