Cork Opera House to stage classic Twelve Angry Men

A Cork production company is about to make its Cork Opera House debut with a timeless classic based around the jury of a homicide trial.

Bolt Productions will stage Twelve Angry Men at the venue from tomorrow (Wednesday, June 7) until Friday (June 9). The story, penned by Reginald Rose, was adapted for the big screen in 1957 and follows a group of jurors as they navigate the complex pitfalls of their own prejudices, bigotry, and overall flawed human nature.

The play has spawned a host of television and Broadway productions over the years since its debut in 1954.

The upcoming production in Cork Opera House will see film collide with theatre. A cinematic introduction unfolding on a large screen will kick off the action before giving way to a full length theatrical performance.

This will follow on from the production company's previous successful runs of shows like The Crucible, which they staged in the Everyman Theatre in 2022. The production had come hot on the heels of Machinal - a play staged on Spike Island in 2019.

The cast will be made up of Owen Warren, Adam Phelan, Karl Buckley and Tadgh DeBarra. They will be joined on stage by Cian Lehane, Leon Danza, Sam Torres and Matthew Real.

John McCaffrey, Mike O’Dowd, Jack Mett and Alexander Eydt will complete the line-up.

Darren Kelleher is the director behind the show. Tickets are currently on sale for the production at www.corkoperahouse.ie. 

Members of Bolt Productions have become widely known across Cork for their avante-garde work.

This was most evident in their original production, Doctor Goldberg’s Travelling Playhouse, which took place at Bolt Theatre, Patrick’s Quay last April for a 24-hour, interval free run. Here, the group presented audiences with a host of misfits and curiosities from mind readers to seductresses. The Victorian circus meets theatre and carnival performance was not for the faint hearted due to its creepier characters, such as a deranged clown.