Review: Reginald Rose's 12 ANGRY JURORS Staged In Mumbai

Reginald Rose's 12 Angry Jurors begins with an extremely gripping plot where an 18-year-old faces a trial for murdering his father.

Under these engaging circumstances the audiences find themselves at once sympathetic as well as abhorred. A sinister crime has taken place and a boy from the slum has been charged. As the story is enacted on the stage, it is not just the 12 jurors who are sitting to decide the fate of the case, find themselves at crossroads but also the audiences. With all the evidences pointing towards the young boy, the likelihood of him going to the gallows is high. But there is also a lot of sentimental value at stake -- what if the boy is innocent and his life gets ruined because of a wrong judgement?

The audiences find the situation more confounding when most jurors are certain of the boys' guilt but there is still a not guilty vote. The single not-guilty vote now forces the jurors to have a lateral thinking, deliberate on the possibilities they may have ruled out, re-examine the case with a different perspective and more importantly takes the audiences on a involving journey to focus on why it may not be necessary to take everything as it appears to you. The story by putting a character who appears guilty but is worthy of some empathy masterfully establishes the argument that it may not always be wise to take the things as they are offered to us. The story hinges on equality, social justice and all the actors are able to convincingly build the argument further that it is important to look at things from a different viewpoint.

The play will be staged shortly in Mumbai and is a good watch if you are looking to find some answers about finding newer perspectives.

Playwright: Reginald Rose

Language/s: English

Duration: 90 mins

Director of the play: Nadir Khan

When: 1 Sep - 2 Sep

Where: Prithvi Theatre

20 Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400049, India

Tickets; Rs 830

Cast: Ajitesh Gupta, Deven Khote, Devika Shahani, Dipika Roy, Nikhil Murali, Prerna Chawla, Rohit Malkani, Shivani Tanksale, Shivani Vakil, Sohrab Ardeshir, Suresh Venkat & Rajit Kapur

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