Festival Theatre, Malvern – until 9th March 2024
Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau
5*****
Twelve Angry Men was originally conceived by TV writer Reginald Rose when finding himself part of a jury in a manslaughter case. From within the jury room he realised he had stumbled upon his idea. This work soon made its way from the small screen to the stage and ultimately, in 1957, to the big screen. And here we are enjoying its return to the incomparable Malvern Theatres.
This work is an interesting piece – the characters don’t even have names – just Guard, Juror 1 etc. That’s a novel approach which reminded me of the 60’s TV show The Prisoner (very apt). I loved that we didn’t get embroiled in the back story of the jurors or, at least, only as much as was needed to advance the plot. No characters stood out as being the most interesting as they were all interesting, no actors stood out as they were all amazing and shone equally brightly! Actually, I’ll amend that statement to “all of the actors stood out”. That said, I will mention a couple due to their character’s pivotal role in proceedings…
Jason Merrells as Juror 8 gave a deliciously logical character, being at times the voice of reason and the first to raise doubts. He was the Poirot the play needed to start the arguments rolling. Without his early intervention it would have been a much speedier affair, so thank God for Juror 8. Juror 3, played with gusto by Tristan Gemmill, was not so impressed by any of his fellow juror’s flapdoodling leading to some gloriously full throttled outbursts. Samarge Hamilton gave us an exceptional portrayal of Juror 5, palpably battling with the inner turmoil of the question at hand and a lifetime of being unjustly pre-judged. His character was pitched with an authenticity that did him and the work justice (pun slightly intended). I also very much enjoyed the more whimsical elements introduced throughout by several characters which kept it all light and frothy.
There was little to no special effects or music, no costume changes and just one static set (more a suggestion than a fully realised set – reminding one of the way season 3 of Adam West’s Batman rendered sets). And it was all the more powerful for it as it concentrated the attention on the drama; on the words, the dilemma and the acting.
It was fascinating to watch the tone of the room and protagonists shift as the arguments for and against the accused unfolded. This included the resistance that some showed to the facts and the reasons why people shifted their position. The portrayals were sometimes subtle and sometimes painted in broader strokes but always riveting and served the forward thrust of the story.
A superbly acted ensemble piece that holds a mirror up to our assumptions and asks us to look again at our preconceptions. It’s a powerful piece of social commentary but also wildly entertaining. It may have started with twelve angry men but it ended with one happy audience. I can think of no greater accolade for tonight’s cast than I now intend to seek out the original film version. Bravo!