Twelve Angry Men

Reginald Rose's play Twelve Angry Men has an unusual and fascinating genesis. Initially written as a teleplay for live television in 1954, the drama was then adapted for a feature film in 1957 (winning Oscars for Best Picture and Best Screenplay for Rose), and several years later adapted for the theatre as a three-act play. Since then the play has been performed throughout the world. A theatre adaptation is more limited in its variety of production values by its very nature; there is no camera for framing or close-ups, for example, to focus on a particular character's face, or image. The immediacy and drama of the power of the script depends almost solely on the performances of the actors. In this play, the set functions almost as another "character."

Twelve Angry Men is a single set play, and the scenery, furniture and props are used to create the minimalist, dingy, stifling jury room in which the 12 men of the title find themselves locked into when they are instructed by the judge to deliberate the fate of a 19-year old charged with the murder of his father. Before analyzing the set, and how it affects the characters, an analysis of the play itself is necessary.

The 12 men of the title are jurors, stuck inside a small jury room in the New York City Criminal Justice Court Building to examine the evidence and deliver a verdict of guilty or not guilty. Since this is a capital offense, a guilty verdict ensures that the accused gets the electric chair, as was the New York

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(weather, time, uncomfortable room, etc.) All of these elements are of vital importance in any jury room, and all of them presented excellent dramatic possibilities (Rose, cited in Munyan 37-38). The heart of the play is an examination of the American justice system. One frightening element is how juror's prejudices and preconceptions influence how they interpret the evidence, making subjective not objective decisions. For example, Juror No. 10 goes into a racist rant: "You know how these people lie. It's born in them. �..they don't need any real big reason to kill someone�." His racist rant causes other jurors to turn on him, and subsequently the men get up and walk away from the table, signifying their disapproval. Another theme is how, in a democracy, one responsible person can effect change. Juror No. 8 tells the other jurors that the concept of reasonable doubt is "a safeguard which has enormous value to our system." This statement fits into the themes of justice and integrity. Rose contends that what his play "has to say about democracy, justice, social responsibilities and the pressure of the times upon the people who live them has some importance�." (38). The basic problem of writing the play that had to be solve

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