Bedlam Theatre, Balham, London
I went into this show expecting a theatre adaptation of Reginal Rose’s original Teleplay, but it turned out not to be a play as such and was simply 12 angry Men on stage.
It was a surprise, and one which I warmed to initially; However when the men started shouting in the faces of the front row, screaming abuses at them at a deafening volume, it became a very different experience. The 12 angry men soon barricaded us all in the theatre and refused to let us leave, threatening us with crude weapons and physical violence.
It was never made clear what the men were angry about, but boy were they angry… It wasn’t long before the children in the audience were crying, but they were soon threatened into a terrified silence. At the 45 minute mark the 12 angry men became actually physically violent with the front row, (I was never so glad not to have chosen a front row seat!). At 53 minutes the 12 angry men, burst forth onto Balham High Street and set fire to a nearby bin, before looting a local newsagent.
It was the longest 55 minute show I have ever attended.