Someone to Blame

Synopsis

In 2004, at the age of 17, Sam Hallam was tried and convicted of murder in a London street fight. But he maintains that he wasn't even there. With little education and no funds, Sam was at the mercy of the justice system and two eye-witnesses, one of whom retracted his accusation in court, and another who admitted in court that when she accused Sam, she had been looking for 'someone to blame.' He has so far spent the last 7 years in prison. David Mercatali and writer Tess Berry-Hart have produced a verbatim piece of theatre using police interviews, court transcripts and independent interviews.

Our Review:

26 March 2012

There is theatre that entertains and then there is theatre that challenges, changes views and raises awareness.

Someone to Blame is such a play. Written by Tess Berry-Hart using extracts from interviews and written sources it tells the true case of Sam Hallam, a 17-year-old boy from Islington, who in October 2004 was tried and convicted of the brutal murder of Essayas Kassahun. Two unreliable eye-witnesses were looking for “just someone to blame on the spot, really” and Sam turned out to be that person, even though he was not even near the place of crime at the time.

David Mercatali’s direction is quick-paced and strong. It starts with a violent flashback of the crime and a look into Sam’s life, told by the characters themselves with each scene then acted out. One side of the stage is held by campaginer Paul May (Keith Hill) who acts as Narrator, informing us about the facts of the crime and the injustice of the legal system in Sam’s...

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