Review: Twelve Angry Men at The Lowry is ‘gripping from start to finish’

A good courtroom drama such as A Few Good Men, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Crucible provide audiences with the claustrophobic feeling of ‘being there’.

So it is no surprise that many of these gripping tales have been popular in different mediums from novels, films and plays.

Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution is currently staged at County Hall in London and audiences can feel part of the narrative, as they sit and play at being a super-sleuth.

And Netflix and others have filled their platforms with true crime stories, so the appetite for this kind of drama remains strong.

Twelve Angry Men at The Lowry

If you have seen the film version of Twelve Angry Men, you will recall that the audience gets a glimpse behind the scenes, as we follow a jury who are known simply by their seat numbers.

We watch in awe as they deliberate and when the story begins, eleven men think the verdict is guilty, with one Juror 8 willing to stand alone and state not guilty.

In the film version, this is Henry Fonda and his performance is magnetic, as he presents many arguments, often seeking the humanity within the person standing in the dock.

Jason Merells playing the iconic Fonda role

Jason Merrells plays this role in this current UK tour of this classic text and he wisely does not impersonate Fonda, but he imbues this character with so much nuance, that you sit up and listen as he states why he cannot simply send a young man down based on prejudiced views.

The other jurors are steadfast to begin with and he has a fight on his hands. But this makes him more willing to use words as his weapons, as he challenges the lack of emphasis on the facts which lay before them.

Reginald Rose’s writing talent

Essentially, this is a play which features twelve men arguing, pacing and deliberating.

But writer Reginald Rose explores something quite timeless here and incredibly relevant.

Palestine and Israel, Brexit and Remain, Stop the Boats and pro-immigration, and supporting those in poverty or telling them to help themselves.

All of these topics are often debated on the likes of X, and I use that term loosely.

As what normally happens is one person presents something there and then before you know it, there is a bun fight and everyone is shouting but no-one is ‘listening.’

The magnetic draw of Twelve Angry Men

We have the lost the ability to debate, present facts or listen to another argument different to ours.

So Twelve Angry Men still has the power to draw the audience in away for their phones and simply sit there in silence, and it does so with aplomb and simplicity.

There is no need for magic tricks or smoke and mirrors.

As the dialogue becomes more heated, there is a tendency for some of the actors to end sounding like wannabe Robert De Niros and your hear some of them slip in and out of Americanisms to their own accents.

And some more diversity on stage would give the piece more power and relevance to the world we live in today.

Classy direction from Christopher Haydon

But Christopher Haydon’s direction keeps things moving, literally.

Instead of standing still, these characters move, mumble, and chat amongst themselves as they form factions.

And that means that this is a play which is never static and that brings momentum and drives the narrative towards the thrilling conclusion.

Effective sound design from Andy Graham

Andy Graham’s sound design is incredibly effective, from the restarted fan which beats like a drum to the ticking sound, as we count down, knowing that these men need to come to an agreement and whichever way they decide to go, they need to back their arguments with proof.

Chris Davey’s lighting delivers the heat of not only the situation but stuffy Summer weather, in which these jurors can barely breathe. It is incredibly effective and the night I attended it was freezing outside.

Michael Pavelka’s excellent set design incorporates a holding room which is claustrophobic and a restroom, where these men go to escape and cool down. And Michael Greco brings much needed comedic relief as Juror 7, as he moves across the stage like a penguin, looking for cracks in the ice, in search of fresh fish, as he presents his often ill informed statements about what is wrong with society.

Unashamedly old fashioned

Twelve Angry Men is an unashamedly old fashioned night out at the theatre and that’s not a bad thing.

It is proof that if you have good dialogue, a gripping story which is relatable and committed performances, you can leave out all the pyrotechnics and just tell the story. And this is a play which is worth a night off from Netflix because it still has that vice-like grip.

Tickets for Twelve Angry Men at the Lowry

Twelve Angry Men is in session at The Lowry until 2nd March and you can book tickets here