‘Lyrics From Lockdown’ is a true story and Bryonn Bain lived it.
He was racially profiled and wrongfully incarcerated by the New York police when he was a Harvard Law student. Once released, Bain’s saga became a cover story for the Village Voice. He called it ‘Walking While Black‘ and it received the largest response in the history of the nation’s most widely read progressive newspaper.
Shortly after, Bain’s law school professor, Lani Guinier, suggested that he create a ‘hip hop opera’ based on his experience with the criminal justice system — and that’s exactly what he did.
Using poetry, comedy, dance, blues, spoken word, calypso, classical music, a live band, and striking visuals, Bryon and his director Gina Belafonte take us on a journey through the very flawed criminal justice system, giving us an extraordinary evening of theatre.
What adds to the poignancy of Bryon’s story is that his experience in jail led to a relationship through letters with death row inmate, Nanon Williams, who was imprisoned at the age of 17 for a crime in did not commit.
Williams wrote Bain from Death Row after reading his story nearly a decade ago. His letters, according to Bain, changed his life and he decided it to weave Nanon’s story through his own, making this a theatre experience that will last way after the lights go down.
‘Lyrics From Lockdown’ is presented by The Actors’ Gang at their theater located at 9070 Venice Blvd, Culver City, 90232. Show times are Thursdays at 8:00 pm, Fridays at 9:00pm and Saturdays at 8:00pm The show runs until Saturday, February 25, 2017. Don’t miss it.Tickets are $34.99, Students/Seniors- $30.00 and Thursday Evenings are ‘Pay What You Can’. Tickets are available online or by phone at 310-838-4264.
