12 Angry Men

Jackie Reidy has a hit on her hands with her production of 12 Angry Men.

12 men sitting around a room arguing may not be everyone’s idea of a good night’s entertainment but this show had the audience involved right from the start.

As many theatre companies will attest; finding men for roles is not easy but Jackie had the luxury of 19 auditionees! And she cast well. With each of their characterisations, all the jury contributed to the story, however there were several standout performances: Mike Sheehan as the unconvinced juror # 8, Clem Halpin as the ‘hot head’ juror # 3, Brian Pamphilon # 7 who was only interested in getting to the ‘game’ that night and Geoff Marsh # 11 – who had dealt with prejudice in his native Europe.

Simply staged with minimal scenery it was up to the men to create the atmosphere and the tension, which they did admirably.

A most enjoyable production to add to the long list of Ballina hits.

Congratulations to all the company.

Roger McKenzie