We give our verdict on The Verdict...
As the hubbub of the Theatre Royal auditorium begins to settle as people take their seats, a hitherto still and supine figure begins to stir under his office desk, where he has spent a presumably fitful night. Dragging himself to his feet from a crumpled heap on the floor, and wearing yesterday’s clothes, he’s still hanging after a night on the sauce. Meet Frank Galvin.
From the outset, we get the measure of Frank. A washed-up, ambulance-chasing lawyer in a professional and personal rut, he’s getting by with the help of the bottle. Estranged from his wife, and constrained by a hard life, he’s immediately relatable. Especially when he gives the armpits of his shirt a sniff before deciding it’s good for another day. For the record, I’m not estranged from my partner, although I am a shirt sniffer…
Out of this midlife malaise Frank is presented with one last chance to redeem himself when a grieving mother comes to him with an open-and-shut (but nevertheless seemingly unwinnable) medical malpractice case. Up against the might of the medical establishment and the local Catholic church, his conscience and courage convince him to refuse a six-figure out of court settlement, believing that medical negligence has destroyed the life of a young mother and her family. Smelling a cover up, he takes the case, the hospital, the church, Boston’s finest gold-plated law firm and, in many ways, his own reputation to court.
Middle Ground Theatre Company have done a hugely impressive job of bringing this powerful courtroom drama to the stage
The innate theatricality of the courtroom and the intense human drama of the hospital has meant that both formats rarely fail to deliver a stone-cold hit, whether on the page, the stage or the screen. For the former just think 12 Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Pelican Brief and the latter ER, House, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest among countless others. The Verdict combines both genres and comes up with a winning formula.
The first half alternates between the office of Frank’s downtown Boston Law Firm and Mahoney’s bar, presided over by Michael Lunney who not only plays two parts brilliantly but also directs. For the second half we are cast as the jury in the courtroom, with a clever shift and breaking of the fourth wall as the two lead attorneys Galvin and Concannon – a behemoth of the Boston Bar - begin to address us, the audience, directly.
Middle Ground Theatre Company have done a hugely impressive job of bringing this powerful courtroom drama, which inspired the multi Academy Award-Nominated film starring Paul Newman, to the stage.
This is a brilliantly staged, tautly written and exceptionally acted ‘David and Goliath’ story
Barry Reed’s writing is fast-paced, often wryly humorous, and always serves the narrative without being too clunkily expositional. Michael Lunney’s direction and Margaret May Hobbs’ staging is dynamic and evocative of the mise en scene of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The fact that we feel the tragedy and injustice of Debbie’s brain-damaged vegetative state through lighting and language alone (we never see her) is testament to their skill.
A gripping plot is whipped along by pacey direction and a slick script, and imbued with genuine tension, humour and pathos by a brilliant ensemble cast. The characterisation, acting and accents are all superb, but special mention must go to lead Jason Merrells whose portal of our flawed protagonist Frank, the loveable hero with feet of clay, is masterful and fully deserving of all the superlatives you see on the promotional materials. I also really enjoyed Richard Walsh as the supercilious Bishop Broby and the irascible Judge whose tit-for-tat scraps with Frank Galvin in court provide much amusement and a stark reminder of the corrupting power of old-boy networks.
This is a brilliantly staged, tautly written and exceptionally acted ‘David and Goliath’ story that will have you gripped from the moment Frank peels himself off his floor, right up to the delivery of the jury’s verdict. An enjoyable evening of theatre and one to experience if you can.
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