Custody

by Tom Wainwright, Urbain Hayo (Contributor)

When a young black man, Brian, dies in police custody, it sends shock waves across the community. Reeling from his death, Brian’s family struggle to make sense of their loss, whilst pursuing a lengthy court battle to clear his name.

Based on the lived experience of creator Urbain Hayo, AKA Urban Wolf, and conceived by him, this stark and timely new play, written by Tom Wainwright and performed in March 2017 at London's Ovalhouse theatre, explores how young black men are slipping through the cracks in society. How do you fight for justice in a system where nobody is on your side? This is the playtext of the 2017 production, and includes author and director statements, and cast and creative biographies.

94 pages, Paperback

Published March 28, 2017

About the author

Tom Wainwright is the Britain Editor of The Economist. He joined the Britain section in 2007 to cover a beat including crime and justice, migration and social affairs. In 2010 he became the newspaper’s Mexico City bureau chief, responsible for coverage of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. There he wrote a special report on Mexico (“From darkness, dawn”, 2012). In 2013 he returned to London, to take up the role of Homepage Editor, and latterly International Correspondent before his current appointment in 2015.

Before joining The Economist Mr Wainwright was a trainee on the Daily Express, and a contributor to newspapers including the Times, Guardian and Daily Telegraph. He read philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University, graduating in 2004.