Jury is out for powerful play
“It takes a great deal of courage to stand alone,” is the tag line for the Nelson College for Girls production of 12 Angry Women.
It’s also taken bravery – plus talent and community support – to get the play ready for the stage at the Suter Theatre on August 12 and 13.
It’s a bold undertaking for the group of 25 Year 12 and Year 13 drama students to put on the show, an adaptation of the 12 Angry Men movie and teleplay described as one of the best courtroom dramas ever made.
It follows a jury’s deliberations after the trial of a young man accused of killing his abusive father, facing a seemingly overwhelming prosecution case. One of the jurors holds out against the other 11 and questions the evidence, sparking conflict and uncovering prejudices as they grapple with the verdict and each other.
The college’s head of drama, Tami Mansfield, said the students had chosen to perform 12 Angry Women out of five plays they had read together because the themes resonated, they loved the story and the characters had so much potential.
Mansfield said the class had “extraordinary talent and drive and a really good work ethic” that saw them running their own rehearsals during lunchtimes.
They had even taken on the challenge of American accents for the play that is set in New York.
Mansfield said previous school productions had been staged in the college’s theatre with limited audience space, so she encouraged the students to think bigger.
Nelson theatre director Hugh Neill had come forward to underwrite the show at the Suter.
“He came to watch a rehearsal and said this has to be done at the theatre,” Mansfield said.
Developer Chris Warren, who had two daughters in the cast, had taken on designing the set, the Menzshed Waimea were building it and Suter Theatre technician Brendon McGrath had volunteered to do the lighting and sound.
“This set is going to be like we’re on Broadway,” she said.
Tickets for 12 Angry Women can be bought through humanitix.com, $25 for adults and $15 for students.
By Warren Gamble, Nelson Mail
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