Stage set for jury show

SYNCHRONICITY’S second production of the year is ready for the stage, with a keen cast of amateur actors bringing 12 Angry Jurors to the Engine Room Theatre for seven shows from Friday, 9 September to Saturday, 17 September.

The play is adapted from the 1954 teleplay 12 Angry Men and influenced by the 1957 film of the same name.

It follows 12 jurors tasked with deciding if a young man is guilty of murdering his father.

At the beginning of the play, 11 of the jurors have already decided he is guilty, however Juror 8, played by Conor Cunningham, sows a seed of reasonable doubt and eventually convinces his fellow members to change their minds.

“It’s up to me, if I vote guilty as well the kid gets sent off to die,” Cunningham said.

“It’s quite an important thing to get people to think about what they’re saying… it’s just about getting them to think what’s happening and what the consequences are.”

It’s not the first courtroom drama Cunningham has acted in this year, staring in Bendigo Theatre Company’s Beyond Reasonable Doubt in March.

He said acting in the earlier play convinced him to audition for this one.

“I just think they’re fascinating, they’re very wordy and they get you thinking,” he said. “The script is very clever the way it gets the audience engaged.

According to 12 Angry Jurors director Wendy Collishaw, the play is totally reliant on the actors’ ability.

“It wouldn’t matter if we acted this in a black box, it’s all about the acting,” Ms Collishaw said.

“That’s what we love, we love to portray a production where the emphasis is on how good the actors are.”

Ms Collishaw said the themes of the show include race and prejudice, with the show designed to challenge presumptions and beliefs.

For tickets to 12 Angry Jurors visit bit.ly/3eiq2OS.