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Theatre Review
Eleanor Pearson 26 July 2015 RAGE ON PYMBLE STAGE
At the first matinee performance of Pymble Players’ Twelve Angry Men, they had a full house – and for good reason.
When the lights went up, the backdrop quickly established its 1950s setting. Simple, yet effective, and largely monochromatic, the set and costumes quietly set the scene and the context of the action.
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Despite raising serious issues about the fairness of the U.S. legal system, prejudice and tolerance, the script is peppered with quick one-liners and dry humour.
In Pymble Players’ intimate space, the audience freely engaged with the drama unfurling. When intermission arrived, some senior patrons began jocularly pacing their way out of the theatre to tea and coffee, while audibly echoing dialogue from a scene in Act One.
Juror 2, a meek bank clerk, played straight by Luke Hawkins frequently got a chuckle with his character’s direct responses, and the odd offer of cough drops to more aggressive jury members. Jim Burns played the foreman drily, as he tried to maintain order, without appearing to do so. There were also plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, when dominant jurors revealed character or judgement flaws, which the audience seized upon.
In Pymble Players’ intimate space, the audience freely engaged with the drama unfurling. When intermission arrived, some senior patrons began jocularly pacing their way out of the theatre to tea and coffee, while audibly echoing dialogue from a scene in Act One.
Juror 2, a meek bank clerk, played straight by Luke Hawkins frequently got a chuckle with his character’s direct responses, and the odd offer of cough drops to more aggressive jury members. Jim Burns played the foreman drily, as he tried to maintain order, without appearing to do so. There were also plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, when dominant jurors revealed character or judgement flaws, which the audience seized upon.
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The climax of this production was when Juror 10, a pushy bigot, played by Andrew Cougle, alienated the rest of the jury, by going on a racist rant. In the 1957 film version, this scene is memorable, but live on stage it is even more powerful, because you can literally see the whole jury at once, voting with their feet.
As an ensemble piece, there’s the challenge of maintaining the pace of a play set only in one room. Every juror is on stage for most of the duration of the play. The strength of this predominantly-male production was the texture of the performances. |
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Peter Gizariotis played the first dissenting juror (Juror 8) with dignity and empathy, and maintained a strong stage presence. Chris Clark played Juror 3, the main antagonist, with gritty honesty. Juror 9, a wise, elderly man (Darrell Hoffman) brought poignancy when he spoke of his own vulnerability. However, even when not in the spotlight, each juror remained present in his role right throughout, and that energy was maintained to the final curtain call.
Twelve Angry Men plays until August 15, 2015.
Twelve Angry Men plays until August 15, 2015.
