In something of a mild take on Johnny Cash’s early trajectory, we first encounter our plain speaking Arkansas hero Lonesome ‘Larry’ Rhodes in jail, recovering from a bout of drunk and disorderly. A local radio journalist Marcia Jeffries has come to the jailhouse to interview inmates in a bid to get interesting real life stories. Our wayward charmer sings her one of his own compositions to gain early release(!) and in short time has a weekly slot on Marcia’s radio programme where his plain speaking verisimilitude gains a following.
A Face In The Crowd at The Young Vic. Photography by Virginie Khateeb.