Few people enjoy jury duty, but even fewer experience the dark version of it as portrayed in “Twelve Angry Men,” which will be performed at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis through March 2. Martin Platt directs the play, written by Reginald Rose in 1957.

The plot is simple: Twelve men gather together in a hot downtown room to decide the fate of a man accused of the juiciest psychological crime: patricide.

What appears to be an open-and-shut deliberation becomes complicated when one man, known only as Juror 7, begins to question the legitimacy of the facts surrounding the case.
The guilt of the accused becomes less certain as evidence and testimony are questioned. The audience begins to realize that many jurors have voted guilty based not on hard facts, but instead on personal bias.

Questions of how our prejudices affect our actions in civic society run throughout this play. The play explores themes of class, upbringing, intelligence and age as we watch the jurors interact and witness the deliberation process unfold.

Audience members are left questioning not only their own biases, but the nature of our justice system, which seems flawed after witnessing such a dramatic turn of events. Raw emotion lies at the heart of many of our decisions, and “Twelve Angry Men” cuts away at facades.

No one is better suited for the weight and intensity of this production than the cast and crew of The Repertory Theater (130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves).

In a play where prejudice is the subject, it is easy for characters to appear stagnate. However, each actor is believable in his role, and all contribute nicely to the flow of the play.

The set, while simple, is well-designed and complements the layout of The Repertory Theatre nicely, and the production exudes professionalism.

Yet, the play brings up a question of irony when we consider that real-life jury deliberation is always kept behind closed doors. We seem to hide from public view a situation when our commitment to justice must prove strongest.

More information on ticket prices and show times can be found online at repstl.org.

See “SLU professor makes mark on The Rep” for more information about Saint Louis University theater professor Gray Barker’s stint as Juror 2 in the Rep’s production.