Richard Norton-Taylor was born on 6 June 1944. He was educated at King's School, Canterbury, Hertford College,Oxford, and the College of Europe, Bruges. In 1975 he joined the Guardian. Since then, he has investigated official secrecy, behind-the-scenes decision-making in Government, and the activities of the security and intelligence services. His books include Whose Land Is It Anyway?, The Ponting Affair, Blacklist, The Inside Story of Political Vetting, In Defence of the Realm? The case for Accountable Security and Intelligence Services, Truth is A Difficult Concept: Inside the Scott Inquiry, and Aitken, The Liar. His works for stage include Half the Picture (an adaptation of the Scott 'arms to Iraq' enquiry), Nuremburg, Justifying War and The Colour of Justice.

In 1993, black teenager Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death in a racist attack by a gang of white youths. The police investigation failed to provide sufficient evidence to convict.
Based on the harrowing transcripts of the public inquiry, this is a dramatic reconstruction of the first hearings which reflected the national outcry at the police's mishandling of the case. First seen at the Tricycle Theatre, London, this remarkable production received instant acclaim and subsequently transferred to the West End.