PATRICK Duffy, who famously played Bobby Ewing in all 14 seasons of Dallas, takes on one of the great stage roles in Reginald Rose’s gripping courtroom drama, Twelve Angry Men, coming to Bath Theatre Royal from Monday 27th November to Saturday 2nd December.
He stars as Juror number 8, the part played by Henry Fonda in the famous film, which had a stellar cast including EG Marshall and Lee J Cobb. This stage production also features Tristan Gemmill as Juror number 3, Gray O’Brien as Juror number 10, Michael Greco as Juror number 7, Ben Nealon as Juror number 12 and Gary Webster as Juror number 6.
A life in the balance … one verdict. The jury of 12 men hold a life in their hands as they decide the fate of a young delinquent accused of killing his father. What appears to be an open and shut case soon becomes a huge dilemma, as prejudices and preconceived ideas about the accused, the trial and each other turn the tables every which way, until the nail-biting climax.
Twelve Angry Men began as a television play before being successfully adapted for film, radio and stage. Hailed as “the classiest, most intelligent drama playing on the West End”, this Bill Kenwright production brings to the stage the taut brilliance of Sidney Lumet’s 1957 Academy Award-nominated film, which is considered one of the all-time great must-see movies.
As well as Dallas, Patrick Duffy played Mark Harris in the sci-fi series Man from Atlantis, Stephen Logan in The Bold and The Beautiful and Frank Lambert in the sitcom Step by Step. His stage roles include Serge in the award-winning West End production of Art. He appeared at Bath Theatre Royal in Catch Me If You Can in 2022.
Tristan Gemmill is best known for his long-running roles as Robert Preston in Coronation Street, and Emergency Consultant Dr Adam Trueman in Casualty. Other screen credits include London’s Burning, The Bill, Poirot, Strictly Confidential, Cape Wrath, Where the Heart Is, Death in Paradise and Call the Midwife. His West End credits include the title role in The Bodyguard opposite Beverly Knight and Alexandra Burke, Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, Rope and Dangerous
Gray O’Brien played the villainous Tony Gordon in 285 episodes of Coronation Street, starred as Dr Tom Deneley in Peak Practice and played Dr Richard McCaig in Casualty. His stage work includes Sleuth in the West End and Cast von Trapp in The Sound of Music on UK tour. Previous appearances at Bath Theatre Royal include The Perfect Murder, The Case of the Frightened Lady and Catch Me If You Can last year.
Michael Greco is best known as Beppe Di Marco in more than 400 episodes of EastEnders. His film credits include this year’s release of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
A stalwart of The Classic Thriller Company and The Agatha Christie Theatre Company, Ben Nealon has toured to Bath in 11 thrillers including last year’s Catch Me If You Can. On television he is best known as Second Lt/Captain Jeremy Forsythe in ITV’s Soldier Soldier.
Gary Webster played Ray Daley opposite George Cole in ITV’s Minder for four years. Other television credits include Family Affairs, EastEnders, Real Women, Hollyoaks and The Bill. On stage he has appeared in Kay Mellor’s A Passionate Woman in the West End, Dial M for Murder and Pygmalion at Windsor, and The Cat and The Canary, on a 2020 UK tour, including Bath.
Completing the cast are Paul Beech, Samarge Hamilton, Jeffrey Harmer, Mark Heenehan, Kenneth Jay, Paul Lavers and Owen Oldroyd.
Reginald Rose was known for confronting social problems and the political arena. His other plays include The Bus to Nowhere, 12:32 am, An Almanac of Liberty and Crime in the Streets.
Photographs by Jack Merriman.