Twelve Angry Men - National Tour
As one of my favourite movies is Twelve Angry Men, I was looking forward to Bill Kenwright's touring production of the Reginald Rose play and I'm glad to say it didn't disappoint!
The drama depicts a jury deliberating a verdict in a murder trial, in which the case at hand pertains to whether a young man murdered his own father. The story begins after closing arguments have been presented in the case, as the judge is giving his instructions to the jury. As in most American criminal cases, the twelve jurors must unanimously decide on a verdict of "guilty" or "not guilty". (In the justice systems of nearly all American states, failure to reach a unanimous verdict, a so-called "hung jury", results in a mistrial). The jury is further instructed that a guilty verdict will be accompanied by a mandatory death sentence.
In the jury room, the first vote is a nearly unanimous decision of guilty with a single "undecided" dissenter, who throughout the deliberations sows a seed of reasonable doubt. The jurors become acquainted with the personalities of their peers. Several of them have different reasons for discriminating against the defendant; his race, his background, and the troubled relationship between one juror and his own son. The one dissenter gradually wins over the other jurors to a unanimous not-guilty verdict, by questioning the reliability of the evidence presented in court and exposing his fellow jurors' prejudices. The characters are unnamed; throughout their deliberation, not a single juror calls another by his name, and they are identified merely by number.
The job of dissenter falls with Juror number 8 played by Jason Merrells. Merrells pulls off with more than convincing aplomb. the amiable forward thinking juror to a "T". He goes about convincing his fellow jurors and the audience that he is uncomfortable with some of the arguments of the prosecution and is more than willing to cast doubt on some of the testimony given in court using a series of sometimes whimsical reenactments. His portrayal of the 'fly in the ointment' is most excellent. The other jurors descend on him like a heavy weight until one by one Juror number 8's argument begins to bear fruit, as quite literally the tables are turned.
During the course of their deliberations each juror's individual shortcomings and prejudices are highlighted to great effect spanning ageism, racism and bigotry which gives vent to some stand out performances not least by Gray O'Brian who is quite brilliant as argumentative bigoted Juror number 10. Michael Greco (of Eastenders fame) is a superb, uptight, Italian American eager to conclude deliberations quickly so he can get to the ball game and he offers some light hearted hilarity to the piece. At the performance I saw Juror number 3 was played quite masterfully by Jefferey Harmer whose prejudice towards the sixteen year old accused is underpinned by his troublesome relationship with his own son. Harmer played the tormented father with much credence. The rest of the jurors played by Ben Nealon, Gary Webster, Samarge Hamilton, Mark Heenehan, Paul Lavers, and Owen Oldroyd as the foreman all offer individual moments of brilliance, but special mention must go to Paul Beech and Kenneth Jay who play two of the older members of the jury. Both offer heartfelt convincing performances of two more wisened minds. The guard is played by Adam Phillip Bloom.
The steady rotation of the table stands a fitting metaphor to the jurys change of verdict and this highly talented cast deliver a convincing set of arguments with an equally convincing performance.
This show was reviewed on the 2nd April 2024 at the Princess Theatre, Torquay where it runs until the 6th April 2024. Tickets available here: Twelve Angry Men Tickets | Princess Theatre, Torquay in Torquay | ATG Tickets
Full tour details can be found here: Twelve Angry Men – 2024 UK and Ireland Tour - Bill Kenwright Limited
***** stars
Dean Winters
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