Courtroom dramas are nearly ten a penny, in today’s media
landscape, but few are as good, or as brilliantly characterised as The Verdict by Barry Reed. I confess The Verdict had passed me by up to this
point, so when Hospital Radio Chelmsford
asked me to represent them during Tuesday’s performance at Chelmsford’s Civic
Theatre, I was very intrigued and excited to find out what this modern literary
classic had to offer.
The Verdict tells
the story of Frank Galvin, a Lawyer in his declining years, coming across a
case of medical malpractice and potential cover-up, where a pregnant woman,
Deborah Ann nearly dies and falls into a permanent coma, during a botched
delivery of her child. After visiting Deborah, and receiving an attempted
pay-out (bribe) from the Church responsible for the Hospital, Galvin is
determined to give the poor Woman a voice, and stand up for what is right.
Joined by his dear friend and mentor Moe Katz, Galvin takes on both the Church
and the establishment, in a desperate fight for justice, in possibly his best,
and last chance in his career to make a difference.
Barry Reed’s story is a very powerful and compelling one,
where nearly every character is flawed, and nobody finishes the play
emotionally unscathed. The Verdict is
not unlike the more famous A Few Good Men,
in that it’s almost as much of a Western as a Courtroom drama – a real David
and Goliath story, where the stakes are high, and there’s tense standoffs in
the Court. The key difference here, other than the setting, is that The Verdict’s characters are more
recognisable as people we encounter in everyday life and closer to home. They
also paint a brilliant picture and dystopian reflection of late 1970s Urban
America (the play takes place in 1980). Everybody in the play is still living
their life as they did in the 50s and 60s, only the hope, optimism and ideals
have faded. The dream has become rotten, and the World is a very cynical place.
This is also superbly reflected in the set design by Michael Lunney for Middle
Ground Theatre Company’s production, which I’ll come on to later.
Amongst this cynicism enters Frank Galvin, perhaps one of
the few Lawyers, who still believes in the goodness of people, but his tiredness
of life, and loveless marriage gives him an easy excuse to indulge his staunch
alcoholism. Galvin’s unerring faith in human nature, makes him susceptible to
numerous deceptions throughout the play, but his faith, in the end is
eventually rewarded.
Given the subject matter, the play is very
emotionally-charged, and tense, but there’s also wonderful moments of dry wit,
which lift the script in many of the right places. However, I confess I did
find the structure of the narrative, slightly unbalanced in the second half of
the play, with little respite between the weighty Courtroom scenes.
Nevertheless, the authenticity of Barry Reed’s work is a huge strength, and
makes its drama, all the more powerful. The strict facts of the Court case, are
also nicely contrasted in their interpretation by the lively and
larger-than-life Lawyers Galvin, and his uncompromising opponent, Concannon.
Despite the happy resolution of the Court case though, there
remains a bitter reminder to the viewer, that despite justice having been done,
there’s still little justice in the World of 1980. All of the Women characters
in the play have their lives wrecked, neglected or manipulated, in this very
male dominated landscape. Firstly, and most obviously, there’s the unseen
victim, Deborah Ann; then there’s Galvin’s own unloved wife; the nurses who saw
in Deborah’s child birth are either intimidated into silence or struck off, and
even successful Women who try to further their careers, are forced into traps
of vice and betrayal, by Men who control them for their own ends. It’s a final,
unpleasant twist, but one that sadly rings true, even in some aspects of the
present day.
Given how compelling a story The Verdict is then, it’s surprising that it has never been adapted
for Theatre until now. Margaret May Hobbs adapted the script, and has very
deftly condensed most of the action to three major locations, and also kept far
more faithful to the original text, than the 1982 film version, which I viewed
after seeing this magnificent Theatre production. To my mind, Middle Ground
Theatre Company has produced the best version I know of to date, far more
energetic than the Film, greatly entertaining, and with an outstanding cast.
Clive Mantle shines, portraying Frank Galvin as a
sympathetic loveable rogue with a hidden steely resolve that breaks out as the
case gets tougher. Mantle also brings great pathos, a welcome warmth and heart,
and superb comic timing, to a role that could so easy have fallen into
earnestness. Mantle is wonderfully supported by many expert hands, including one
of Britain’s finest ever character actors, Jack Shepherd, who plays Galvin’s
friend and Mentor, Moe Katz. Jack Shepherd’s Katz is both subtle and wily,
played as the eternally loyal pragmatist. Katz is comic relief from time to
time, but to describe him as such does him a huge disservice, because he’s also
very intuitive, seeing through the mist of red tape on several occasions, and
masterminding some of Galvin’s winning moves in the trial.
Completing Galvin’s extended family are Michael Lunney’s fun
and down-to-earth bar manager Eugene Meehan (Lunney also doubles up as Dr.
Daniel Crowley), and Cassie Bancroft’s kind, sincere, magnetic, but ultimately
conflicted Donna St. Laurent. Donna, was originally written as a Fem-fatale,
but I’m glad that aspect was played down in this production, even if Galvin
ends up seeing her as such. Bancroft keeps Donna as a genuine, sweet soul, who
becomes entrapped and torn apart by the machinations of others.
Peter Harding, is impressive as Galvin’s vain and ruthless
opponent in court, Concannon; selling his cold World-view, and calculated
tactics with a charming twinkle in his performance. Okon Jones goes one step
further, providing the sharp-witted and no-nonsense Dr. Lionel Thompson, with a
wry sarcasm that lifts many of the scenes he appears in. Once again, it’s a
welcome dose of character in the interpretation, which seems seriously lacking
in other variations of The Verdict. I
should also give out additional praise to Nuala Walsh’s mournful and intense
Mrs McDaid, and Eugenia Caruso’s nervous and troubled Natalie Stampanatto; both
of whom leave huge impressions during their short time in the spotlight.
The set design is very convincing, and like all the best
sets, gives the impression it’s been “lived in”, rather than constructed. The
Court set in particular, is grand and imposing, and immediately sets the scene
before any door is opened. The set combined with the atmospheric lighting,
really helps to sell the play as an American period piece. The most beautiful,
and surprising aspect of the whole production though, was the original music
soundtrack, composed by Lynette Webster. So many American dramas, and courtroom
dramas at that, fall into the trap of playing mournful, almost
militaristic-like Brass music, which pigeonholes the production almost
immediately. So when I heard the soulful, folk-inspired string themes played, I
knew I was in for something special. My favourite pet theory, was that the
music was the unspoken voice of missing comatose plaintiff, Deborah Ann, seeing
over events. I digress though, the different folk sound, almost harks back to
the traditional American music of the 1800s, like it was a call to arms, or a
calling for Frank Galvin to make a stand.
All in all, Middle Ground Theatre Company’s The Verdict has been the best play, I’ve
seen in years, and I feel immensely lucky to get the chance to see Theatre of
this calibre in Chelmsford. Considering this is a World tour, I think the cast
and crew deserve many plaudits for working so hard to provide first class Drama
entertainment to so many people. So if the Civic Theatre are wondering whether
to feature more drama productions, particularly of those by Middle Ground
Theatre Company, I would say, sign them up!
Score: 9/10
P.S. Although the run at Chelmsford's Civic Theatre is now at an end, there is a further run of The Verdict at the Palace Theatre, Southend-On-Sea, from Tuesday 25th to Saturday 29th April 2017.
For more info visit:
http://www.middlegroundtheatre.co.uk/Wordpress/the-verdict/
Clive Mantle shines, portraying Frank Galvin as a
sympathetic loveable rogue with a hidden steely resolve that breaks out as the
case gets tougher. Mantle also brings great pathos, a welcome warmth and heart,
and superb comic timing, to a role that could so easy have fallen into
earnestness. Mantle is wonderfully supported by many expert hands, including one
of Britain’s finest ever character actors, Jack Shepherd, who plays Galvin’s
friend and Mentor, Moe Katz. Jack Shepherd’s Katz is both subtle and wily,
played as the eternally loyal pragmatist. Katz is comic relief from time to
time, but to describe him as such does him a huge disservice, because he’s also
very intuitive, seeing through the mist of red tape on several occasions, and
masterminding some of Galvin’s winning moves in the trial.
