In terms of comedic talent, you’re unlikely to get more bang for your buck than in this reinterpretation of 12 Angry Men. The stacked cast includes Tom Stade, Phil Nichol, Joe Pasquale, Stephen K Amos and Glenn Wool, but unfortunately the script by Owen O’Neill (who’s also among the cast) features more jurors than half-decent jokes.
O’Neill’s twist this time around is that the jury is a benevolent bunch. They’re all set to acquit the 18-year-old kid on trial for murdering his father. All except Juror Number 8, played by the diminutive Ian Coppinger. He’s a unique thinker, the kind of guy who goes on holiday to Germany during World War II for the deals. He believes the lad is guilty and goes about convincing his fellow jurors of that fact.
Acting abilities vary wildly across the cast. Some, like Coppinger and Nichol, are relatively accomplished and at least know how to project their voice across a large room like the Pentland Theatre. Others come alive during their comic set pieces (Pasquale has a cute tap dance routine, Wool has fun with a bonkers accent and frenzied rant), but most seem a little lost on stage.
Rather than a critique of the American jury system, the play becomes a mild treatise on the gullibility of the general public, with some weak jokes about vegetarianism, cushion upholstery and Bavarian sausage thrown in. I’m not saying director Guy Masterson and his cast deserve the electric chair for 11½ Angry Men, but paying audiences should find them guilty of peddling lacklustre material.
11½ Angry Men, Pleasance at EICC, until 22 Aug, 2.30pm