Twelve is the gripping, penetrating, and engrossing examination of a diverse group of twelve jurors who are uncomfortably brought together to deliberate after hearing the “facts” in a seemingly open-and-shut homicide case. They retire to a jury room to do their civic duty and serve up a just verdict for two defendants whose lives are in the balance.
The jury of Twelve, entrusted with the power to send two brothers to prison for killing a neighborhood tyrant, are literally locked into a small jury room until they come up with a unanimous decision - either guilty or not guilty. The compelling, provocative play examines the twelve jurors deep-seated personal prejudices, perceptual biases and weaknesses, indifference, anger, personalities, unreliable judgments, cultural differences, ignorance and fears, that threaten to taint their decision-making abilities, cause them to ignore the real issues in the case, and potentially lead them to a miscarriage of justice.
Fortunately, one brave, dissenting juror votes “not guilty” at the start of the deliberations because of his feelings of reasonable doubt. Persistently and persuasively, he forces the other jurors to slowly reconsider and review the shaky case (and eyewitness testimony) against the defendants. Heated discussions, the formation of alliances, the frequent re-evaluation and changing of opinions, votes and certainties, and the revelation of personal experiences, insults and outbursts fill the jury room.