11½ Angry Men review: Sluggish, half-baked spoof
The 2003 Fringe classic is revamped as a comedian-packed satire, but weighed down by mixed acting and a weak script
Back in 2003, Guy Masterson’s take on classic courtroom drama 12 Angry Men was a smash at the Fringe, with a roster of comedians showing off their serious acting skills. Now it’s been turned into a spoof, directed again by Masterson and written by original cast member Owen O’Neill, again featuring a line-up stuffed to the gills with comedy talent (among them Tom Stade, Phil Nichol, Stephen K Amos, Spencer Jones). Making it a parody must have seemed like a top-notch idea: turns out that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
It’s 1950s New York, a boy faces the electric chair for murdering his father (with a German sausage) and our jurors are caged in a sweaty room, deciding his fate. The ‘half’ man of the title is Juror 8, so named because (that’s right) he’s small. Not all comedians can or should act, and this 12-strong ensemble proves to be less than the sum of its parts. Weak delivery leaves lines lost in the mix, but to be fair, they’re ill-served by a script that barely registers more than a few titters in its first hour.
Only the last 20 minutes flicker into some semblance of life, with sparky work by Nichol and an unhinged, grandstanding speech from Glenn Wool. Ian Coppinger, as the vertically challenged juror, does a fine job throughout trying to anchor the whole shebang. But this sluggish show fails to gel and, beyond any reasonable doubt, is a waste of great comedic talent.
11½ Angry Men, Pleasance EICC, until 22 August, 2.30pm; picture: Nux Photography.