From book to big screen and to the stage. Following award-winning runs in London and two national tours this finely crafted script brings us back to a crashing reality of the inherent racism, stereotyping and assumptions that are rife in any society regardless of era.

The cast of Twelve Angry Men | Photo © Jack Merriman
As if watching a live feed on a social media platform, we see 12 jurors set with the task of judging whether or not a young boy should be sentenced to death for the apparent murder of his father.
It has to be a majority decision, the stakes are high and initially, there is but one voice of reason. I refuse to spoil the outcome for anyone who does not know the story.
The characters are fully drawn by this excellent script. Director Christopher Haydon directs with meticulous precision on a revolve design from Michael Pavelka which mirrors the passage of time.
The twelve men, no women on the jury at this time, rant rave and yell in the extreme heat of the threatening storm; all but one anxious to get out, get home and get a verdict.
Patrick Duffy is the infamous Juror 8; the one who stops to question, the voice of reason.
It is unsurprising in the midst of the room he is initially unheard, challenged and threatened.
The entire ensemble is outstanding, the characters never leave the stage and the action continues throughout whether at the water station or in the bathroom.
Michael Greco as Juror 7 and Gary Webster as Juror 6 get more than a fair share of the action alongside the excellent Gray O’Brien as Juror 10.
This is a good production, it wasn’t flawless due to a technical issue and a show stop to fix a sound issue.
This felt almost insurmountable at the time as the thread had been hard to follow.
However, when you have a cast of this calibre then everything is in safe hands. Never easy to recover the hold and interest over the audience if something is wrong but they rose to the challenge and the result reflected a company at the very top of their game and without question, a lesser company may not have retained the continuity and craft which the full house were gifted at the opening performance.
Credit also to Mark Wilkinson for the most unenviable job in Stage Management in moments of crisis; his presence onstage and vocal projection to keep the audience informed is an example to many.
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Reviewer: Petra Rose Alexander