Tale of innocent man on death row turned into ‘inspiring’ musical
Show tells how Anthony Ray Hinton was wrongfully convicted of two murders
Friday, 8th March — By Charlotte Chambers
Anthony Ray Hinton
THE heartbreaking story of a man on death row in America’s deep south for 28 years for a crime he didn’t commit is not exactly the kind of material that screams “turn me into a musical”.
But if anyone could do it, it was Harvey Brough of the 1980s jazz band Harvey and the Wallbangers, who wrote the score for The Sun Does Shine, alongside lyricist Justin Butcher, for the Holloway-based community choir Vox Holloway.
The show, due to be performed at the Hackney Empire on March 23, is about Anthony Ray Hinton, who was sentenced to death in June 1988 after he was wrongfully convicted of two murders.
“The Sun Does Shine is possibly the most emotionally challenging project that Vox has ever taken on – and the most inspiring,” said Tricia Zipfel, chair of Vox, which has been rehearsing in St Luke’s Church in Hillmarton Road for 15 years.
“How to sing about something as dark as death row and as distant as Alabama without simply exploiting Anthony Ray Hinton’s suffering for the sake of our art?”
The Sun Does Shine is based on Mr Hinton’s autobiography of the same name, which looks at events of his conviction and subsequent 2015 release after the pioneering lawyer Bryan Stevenson made a career overturning miscarriages of justice by challenging systemic racism.
Since the Vox took on Mr Hinton’s story they have worked with the two men behind it, both gaining their blessing to perform their story but also liaising with Mr Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative in Alabama.
The two men helped Vox create a radio programme, featuring Mr Hinton himself, that will be broadcast in UK prisons later this year.
Since embarking on the show, Vox have also performed in prisons and developed correspondence with long-serving prisoners, while St Luke’s church choir now performs on the first Sunday of each month at Pentonville Prison. Its chaplain is a member of Vox and will be performing in the Hackney show.
Specials guest stops by to hear the choir
THREE weeks ago the Vox Holloway had a very “special” guest at its most recent project: Jerry Dammers, pictured.
The founding member of the 1980s British ska band The Specials, known for its political messages, Mr Dammers attended a performance by Vox Holloway based on the music of his band at St Luke’s Church.
Mr Dammers said afterwards: “I just really want to say thank you to Harvey, to all the musicians to all the choir, everybody. It’s also, quite possibly the weirdest concert in the history of music; it took us two years to work out how to play those songs and these guys did it in two rehearsals.”
Harvey Brough, the choir’s musical director, wrote and arranged the project, which is expected to be performed again soon, after selling out its two nights at the church, off Caledonian Road.
