Students at Dufferin Christian School (DCS) recently took to the stage to perform a courtroom classic originally written for an all-male cast.
The play 12 Angry Jurors — originally titled 12 Angry Men — explores the “huge responsibility of 12 ordinary people as they consider the guilt or innocence of a young man accused of murder.” First written during a time when only men could serve on juries, the production has since been adapted for gender-neutral casts — and that’s how DCS chose to perform it.
After auditions in September, co-director Hentie Jordaan ended up with the exact number of seriously interested students as there were roles. Everyone got a part, and by what Jordaan called a stroke of luck, they all formed his “dream cast” — a group committed to the production and who slipped into their roles effortlessly. The cast included 14 students and was co-directed by Jordaan, teacher Marsha Bultena, and DCS alumna Megan Bouwers.
DCS stages a drama production every second year. Their last show, in 2023, featured selected scenes from Shakespeare plays performed in the original language. The drama program is extracurricular, meaning every participating student chose to be part of it.
Jordaan said 12 Angry Jurors captures the tense deliberations of a jury in 1950s New York as they decide the fate of a young man accused of murdering his father. The verdict will determine whether the man goes free or faces the electric chair.
The play deals with themes of prejudice, truth, and the importance of free discussion.
Each juror is a unique character:
• Juror 1 is a small person who enjoys being given power.
• Juror 2 is soft-spoken and tends to go with the group.
• Juror 3 is an alpha character and a bully.
• Juror 4 is wealthy and intelligent.
• Juror 5 is young and a bit naïve.
• Juror 6 is thoughtful and logical.
• Juror 7 is temperamental and impatient.
• Juror 8 is the young protagonist.
• Juror 9 is a pregnant woman who cares for her elderly father with Alzheimer’s.
• Juror 10 is a bigot who hates anything different.
• Juror 11 is an immigrant.
• Juror 12 is a shallow advertising executive.
Additional roles include the judge, the clerk, and a deputy.
“The play has long been a favourite of mine and my co-director Marsha Bultena,” said Jordaan. “We both love the 1957 film version starring Henry Fonda and thought that the play would pose an exciting challenge for our students.”
The cast worked on the production from October until showtime in mid-May. Jordaan said he was impressed by the camaraderie among actors, especially with students ranging from Grade 9 to Grade 12.
“Our experienced lead actors took on a leadership role and, particularly as opening night approached, would organize rehearsals together with just the cast by themselves, going through difficult sections and trying to make scenes work,” he said.
“As a director, I was also impressed that I could, on occasion, simply give a group of actors involved in a particular scene a broad vision of the effect we needed to create, and then leave them to brainstorm and experiment. I’d come back some minutes later to find that they had solved the problem beautifully and come up with a complete and compelling mini scene all by themselves.”
The performances took place May 16 and 17. Jordaan said they went incredibly well, despite some typical pre-show nerves.
“Being in front of an audience raised our cast’s energy and theatrical daring to a pitch that we’d never experienced during rehearsals,” he said. “And when the curtains closed on both nights, the cast and directors were all elated.
“We received glowing responses from our audience, too, which was very gratifying.”
DCS’s next drama production is scheduled for 2027.
