Review by Eric Page
Reginald Rose’s courtroom thriller is full of mature male TV soap opera actors allowing you to relax and enjoy this intricate examination of the different presentations of masculinity and their interactions with class and culture in 1950s New York.
The story is simple, a jury has murder on their minds and a life in their hands as they decide the fate of a young delinquent accused of killing his father. But what appears to be an open and shut case soon becomes a huge dilemma, as prejudices and preconceived ideas about the accused are explored and interrogated, expectations about the trial examined, and deeply ingrained attitudes to each other contribute to turn the tables every which way, with the tension building steadily through to the denouement.
The trial itself is background to this exploration of bias, prejudice, resentment, role models, deferment, mob mentality, education, emotional expressions, and status in this randomly selected group of 12 men. Most of whom are angry with themselves, or the wider world, but are led, though quiet, careful questions from one man of principal and doubt, to question their morals and values.
Patrick Duffy serves up a quiet, reflective convincing ‘good man’ performance. Both fascinating and keeping the focus on the slow, deliberate action, he’s also the only one not pulling the vintage Neu Yawk accent, being offered up by half of the cast in a rather shouty manner, but this is angry men mode, we get it.
Written as a rebuttal to the lynch mob hysteria of the McCarthy era there are lessons for us all today in standing up for our gut ethical instincts and not being swayed by being the only voice of soft reason in a crowd of loud people ‘like us’ determined to shout us down or bully us into silence.
The set, of one small stifling room, is a lovely piece of deconstructed Brownstone architecture with some cute weather effects on the large windows which plainly frame the action. There is a sly revolve on the stage which literally turns the main central table that the men sit and move around as the attitudes themselves shift within the room. Lighting and sound scapes are subtle and add to the ambience, and the ‘Mad Men’ costumes are perfect, with a lot of fine detail.
Worth a peep if you like a courtroom drama and want to see a melange of male soap actors turn in some fine performances. It’s an interesting twist to the genre, looking at why we make our minds up, and what and who can influence us to decide what’s right, and what’s wrong. The play is still relevant, despite its 1950s setting, with dialogue which is fierce and passionate, cutting straight to the heart of the issues of civil liberties and social justice that still challenge us, our attitudes to each other and our legal systems today.
Twelve Angry Men is showing at Theatre Royal Brighton till Saturday, November 26.
Full details and to book tickets via the Theatre Royal Booking site here
You must be logged in to post a comment.