A show you don’t want to miss

A babble of discussion rapidly spread amidst patrons as they left New Plymouth’s Repertory Theatre after the opening night of Rough Justice.

One woman declared: ‘‘I felt like I was in the courtroom for a moment.’’ I agreed with her, except I actually felt I was in the courtroom for the entire length of this gripping play written by Terence Frisby. I just couldn’t decide if I was in the public gallery or part of the jury.

As the enactment of James Highwood’s court case for killing his son proceeded I listened to many clever debates. I was swayed by one legal argument after another. One moment I thought the defendant was guilty, the next not guilty. I couldn’t make up my mind what sentence this main protagonist should receive, but I definitely knew I was witnessing some excellent, powerful, thought-provoking drama.

Congratulations must go to director Heather Harrison for being brave enough to take on the challenge of presenting some really serious, hard core theatre. It was refreshing to see local actors tackle the demanding roles within Rough Justice.

Bryan Vickery opened the show by delivering his police statement, and he set the scene with his very believable portrayal of PC Ramsden. As we met the witnesses that followed, we could see Harrison had done a fine job with her casting. It’s been some time since we saw Jim Paxie on our local stages, but with a little hesitancy and slight forgetfulness he made a great Dr Kerr, the pathologist. Gillian Somers gave a strong portrayal of the very highly qualified paediatrician.

Antony Jones was simply superb as the defendant. What a convincing argument or two he could deliver. However, he was up against a mastermind of law in the persona of Margaret Casely, QC, the prosecuting counsel. Played brilliantly by Victoria Kerr, you could easily imagine she had been in court all day and had just popped into the theatre on her way home to deliver some really hard hitting legal revelations.

My favourite was John Butler as the High Court Judge. As he peered over the top of his glasses his facial expressions said as much as his learned voice as he dispersed ever such wise advice.

Vanessa Harrison, was skilfully played James Highwood’s wife. She came across as restrained and aloof – as if she could crack if she let too much feeling show. Although that was definitely part of her fragile character, I wondered if she was just a little too unemotional.

Morris West as a solicitor, was required to say very little and when he did speak he was often shut down immediately. He played that trait well. However, I thought he looked rather uninterested in the court proceedings and would have liked to see him react at least occasionally with a little discontent or dismay in his body language.

My overall judgment is that this is a show you don’t want to miss. You will think about it long after the final curtain call. You might or might not be happy with the final verdict. You will probably leave the theatre chatting animatedly to others about it all. Great drama tends to have that effect. I close my case.

– Rough Justice is at the New Plymouth Repertory Theatre until March 5.