Born in Philadelphia, Nick Yarris is an American writer who spent 22 years on death row in Pennsylvania. He was wrongfully convicted of rape and murder in 1982 and was exonerated by DNA testing in 2003.

After landing in jail for driving under the influence, Yarris saw a news article about the rape and murder of a local woman, Linda Mae Craig. He claimed to know the killer to win favor with the authorities and possibly avoid the DUI charge, but when it turned out the suspect wasn't involved, Yarris became the suspect himself. He was charged with abduction, rape, and murder and was found guilty.

DNA testing is a form of forensic science that applies physical evidence (from hair, blood, and the like) to prove or disprove a case. Yarris’s attorneys helped uncover previously unexamined evidence, and he became the first death row prisoner in Pennsylvania to be exonerated for his alleged crimes via DNA testing.

Inmates often lack the power of self-advocacy, but Yarris was relentless in asserting he was innocent, and he had help from a human rights volunteer (Tessa Thompson's role in the stage show). Yarris’s case was a breakthrough, paving the way for future exonerations.

Yarris was released from prison in 2004. Afterward, he protested weekly outside the District Attorney's office, demanding that the FBI use the found DNA samples to find the real perpetrators. Yarris also sued the D.A.'s office for malicious prosecution, and the case was settled for $4 million in 2008.

While on death row, Nick Yarris met prison volunteer Jackie Schaffer. Played by Tessa Thompson on stage, Schaffer was a real-life member of the Western Pennsylvania Coalition Against the Death Penalty.

She married Yarris six months after meeting him, while he was still incarcerated, and she played a key role in his release by pleading his case to the Western Pennsylvania Regional Conference of Amnesty International, a human rights organization. Yarris and Schaffer divorced after his release.

Nick Yarris’s release became a high-profile story in its day, and he went on to write the death row memoir Seven Days to Live (2008), later reissued as The Fear of 13. Why that title? While in prison, Yarris taught himself new words, including triskaidekaphobia: the fear of the number 13.

British director David Sington adapted that book into a 2015 documentary film also titled The Fear of 13. In the doc, Yarris is the only subject, who performs his story as a one-person show that jumps around in time.

Lindsey Ferrentino (Amy and the Orphans and This Flat Earth off Broadway, The Queen of Versailles on Broadway) adapted the story for the stage. It premiered in 2024 at the Donmar Warehouse in London, where Brody first played Yarris.

In his film career, Brody has a long history of playing underdogs who stick to their convictions to see justice through, so this story is a natural fit: “I could not get through the script without crying,” he told The Guardian.

He and Yarris have discussed the real-life figure’s history, physicality, and prison experience. While Yarris’s documentary mimicked a one-person show, the stage version includes “a quicksilver ensemble that navigates guards, inmates, and even Yarris’s parents,” per London Theatre’s five-star review.

One of Yarris’s attorneys, Christina Swarns, now serves as Executive Director of the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization that actually has NYC roots: It was founded in 1992 at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in Manhattan.

The Innocence Project has helped to free or exonerate more than 250 people, including Yarris. The organization uses DNA testing and other scientific advancements to prove wrongful conviction and has helped pass more than 250 state and federal reforms.

The Fear of 13 on Broadway is partnering with the Innocence Project to support its work and provide audiences with ways to take action beyond the theatre.

Check back for information on The Fear of 13 tickets on New York Theatre Guide.