Original London Cast: Let Him Have Justice, CD

At the Covent Garden Festival of Music Theatre 1999, an amazing bold new musical burst forth. It was amazing because it was written and performed by a group of young actors; and bold because they chose a controversial case of British miscarriage of justice as its subject. The story is based on the true-life case of 19 year old Derek Bentley, accused of shooting dead a policeman in Croydon. Bentley was the last man to be hung in this country in 1953 in spite of overwhelming evidence of his innocence. This powerful, tuneful and moving musical received rave reviews and acclaims from the British press. It played to full houses at the Cochrane Theatre, London for two weeks, moved the audience to tears and received standing ovations every night. Amongst the young and talented cast are some future stars of the Musical Stage. Recorded in Dolby Surround sound at Abbey Road Studios, the recording was produced by John Yap. "The effect on a predominantly young - hurrah! - audience on Tuesday was interesting: many were profoundly moved (much snuffling), while among those old enough to have been around in 1953, the reaction was one of blind anger that such a thing could have happened in ones lifetime. Strange how potent musical theatre can be." - Rodney Milnes, The Times