Post by marion on Feb 8, 2024 9:35:28 GMT
This has been doing the rounds. It toured with Patrick Duffy as the main name last year and was also, I believe, in the West End. I found Duffy a bit too hard to hear when I saw him on stage so didn’t really register much of an interest. It is now back for another tour. It’s a bit soap oriented in the casting and the main names (for the poster) are Jason Merrells,, Tristan Gemmill, Michael Greco (Beppe from EE! Nice to see he’s still working), Ben Nealon, Gary Webster and Gray O’Brien. Anyhoo I got an email about it coming to Richmond and checked out the reviews which were good.
I can just about remember seeing the film in the mists of time on the BBC! Jason M plays the dissenting juror and Tristan G the very aggressive hang ‘em high juror. The main names do have the larger roles but they all have to play as an ensemble or it wouldn’t work. I was actually surprised by how funny it was at times as honestly I thought it might be a bit wordy and boring. But no! It was quite lively, and worked very well despite being decidedly low tech with just the jury room set. The only criticism I have is that at times the sound levels dropped. Now whether that was because of placement on stage or mic issues, I don’t know but it was sporadic, not one particular weak link in the cast. I did read a tip in a review to sit as close to the stage as possible and I did go in the stalls and pay an extra fiver to gain a few rows! I would recommend that tactic to anyone going.
So I thought it was a really good afternoon out. The cast played it very well. Actually the theatre was really busy and it got very warm and loud applause at the end, with just a little cheering and a few standing. Obviously not the OTT ovation you see at the big musicals, but you could tell the audience really enjoyed it.
I can just about remember seeing the film in the mists of time on the BBC! Jason M plays the dissenting juror and Tristan G the very aggressive hang ‘em high juror. The main names do have the larger roles but they all have to play as an ensemble or it wouldn’t work. I was actually surprised by how funny it was at times as honestly I thought it might be a bit wordy and boring. But no! It was quite lively, and worked very well despite being decidedly low tech with just the jury room set. The only criticism I have is that at times the sound levels dropped. Now whether that was because of placement on stage or mic issues, I don’t know but it was sporadic, not one particular weak link in the cast. I did read a tip in a review to sit as close to the stage as possible and I did go in the stalls and pay an extra fiver to gain a few rows! I would recommend that tactic to anyone going.
So I thought it was a really good afternoon out. The cast played it very well. Actually the theatre was really busy and it got very warm and loud applause at the end, with just a little cheering and a few standing. Obviously not the OTT ovation you see at the big musicals, but you could tell the audience really enjoyed it.
Anymore to come?
