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The Gutted Film and Theatre Company in association with Giant Olive Theatre Company presents
Twelve Very Angry Women
By Lance Nielsen
STARRING INDRA OVÉ
Four performances from 2nd - 5th July
Friday and Saturday at 4pm
Sunday and Monday at 7.30pm
"This is a production that needs to be seen"
"Anger bout, this ain't bad"
Monday 5th July is Sold Out
PLEASE ARRIVE AT THE BOXOFFICE BETWEEN 6.15PM AND 7.15PM TO COLLECT YOUR TICKETS
ANYONE ARRIVING AT THE THEATRE TO PICK UP THEIR TICKETS AT 7.30PM WILL MISS THE START OF THE SHOW
PLEASE EMAIL boxoffice.giantolive@gmail.com if you have any problems.
Many thanks.
For a full list of dates and times at The Landor Theatre and the Lion & Unicorn please click here.
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‘The eyes of every law abiding person in London are watching for this verdict – The burden of that decision is on your shoulders…’
On a hot day in London during the summer of 2012 an all female jury enters a claustrophobic conference room to begin their deliberations. The women are from all kinds of different ethnicities and come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, but none of them are of white European in origin. On trial is a young, poorly educated eighteen year old white Polish immigrant for the murder of her foster mother, who ran the care home where she was placed. The case is highly controversial as the foster mother was of Afro-Caribbean origin, with a reputation for being a kind and caring person who was well liked and excelled at her job.
The case is the first in London to be tried since the introduction through the House of Lords of the ‘Baynham Bill’ which has re-introduced Capital Punishment into London as the sentence for the crime of murder on a temporary basis. The bill came about as a result of the serious escalation of murder on London’s streets which saw the murder rate in 2010 and 2011 increase by almost 200 percent and it was also revealed by an under cover reporter that the capital’s murder statistics had been altered favourably for several years before that to make the city seem safer with the Olympic Games looming. The press attention on this case has been at a frenzied level, and most of London seems to be looking for a lamb to sacrifice as the saintly portrait of the victim is painted ever larger in the daily papers. Contrastingly the immigrant community are up in arms over the possible execution of one of their own, claiming that the girl is being used as a scapegoat to push the political agenda’s of the far right. All of London nervously awaits the verdict of the jury with baited breath. As the Jurors debate the case only one doubts the girl’s guilt but with so much pressure on the jurors to bring back the expected verdict, can she convince the others that she is in the right?
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‘12 Angry Women’ is a new contemporary work inspired by the play and film ‘12 Angry Men’ which those who have not seen this superb production tells the story of a jury of all white collar workers in the sixties, presiding over the case of a young Haitian man who is on trial for the murder of his father. Here the situation is a complete reverse of those circumstances and though in this modern tale the reality of twelve non white female jurors sitting on a case of this magnitude is extremely remote, it is interesting to examine and explore the attitudes of different types of people in such a scenario which makes for a very dramatic piece of theatre.
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The issue of immigration and capital punishment is one that we have heard discussed many times, in many different arenas and under many different types of circumstances. Through the work I have done for the company and also my work for a number of charity organisations in London I have had the opportunity to meet and socialise with people from a vast array of different backgrounds and cultures. My close circle of friends covers a wide range of very different people from across all corners of the globe and all of them at one time or another have expressed a wide range of opinions on one or both of the subjects above. The voices of the different characters are based on a variety of people I have come into contact with. Tackling the subject of racism and prejudice in my writing is not something that I have shied away from in the past but exploring the attitude from a wide spectrum of characters with different ethnic backgrounds is an arena which is very difficult to navigate. The views of some of the characters in this piece make for extremely uncomfortable reading but not to tackle such views head on, would be the equivalent to pretending that they do not exist, when in fact like it or not, they are out there and make up part of the fragile fabric that are the threads of today’s society in London’s street. The other issue the play examines are the attitudes towards the ever increasing violence on London’s streets, particularly amongst the cities youth. It used to be that danger could be avoided, in the most part, by behaving sensibly and staying clear of well known trouble spots. Now a man can be kicked to death in an unprovoked attack by two girls in the middle of Trafalgar Square while the public just idly watch. Another is savagely beaten to death by a gang of youths for trying to retrieve his girlfriend’s Witches hat on Halloween. This is the reality of London today. The man killed recently in Trafalgar square, Ian Baynham was someone I knew, and a very close friend to many people I know. His life like so many others have been needlessly lost and I see no sign of this reckless trend in behaviour decreasing. This city is now in a struggle with an ever growing tide of violence and this play is my contribution to that struggle. Circumstances and attitudes in our current culture towards each other must be examined and debated and some where, some how, things must change if this city is ever to become a safe place for the children of our future. |
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