Twelve Angry Men

Theatre Royal,

Bath

On until Saturday

01225 448844

THE 1957 film, Twelve Angry Men, directed by Sidney Lumet and showcasing a stunning performance by Henry Fonda, set the bar high when it comes to courtroom drama.

The piece, written by Reginald Rose following his own experience as a juror on a manslaughter case, is grippingwwww stuff.

The story centres on a jury tasked with deciding whether or not a 16-year-old youth is guilty of murder.

Eleven of the 12 are convinced he did it and want a quick conclusion. One man stands strong and argues his case.

In the film it’s Henry Fonda, at the Theatre Royal it’s the excellent Tom Conti.

The one-set jury room of Twelve Angry Men transfers perfectly to the stage.

Conti is superbly supported by a massively-experienced cast with theatre and film credits as long as your arm.

But where the film was oppressive, claustrophobic and not a little disturbing, I found this production a little on the light side.

I wasn’t expecting laughter, albeit at what were admittedly some clever one-liners.

And I missed the sheer sweat and grime that Lumet was able to convey in the film. Much more difficult to reproduce on stage.

Minor gripes though, in what is a very compelling production.

PAULINE LEIGHTON