Introduce yourself please.
Owen O’Neill. Writer, comedian, poet.
How would you pitch it to someone who prefers screwball comedy?
I don’t like the term Screwball comedy. I think if you have to put the word Screwball in front of the word Comedy then you’re trying too hard, same with Romantic Comedy or Bittersweet Comedy….don’t pigeonhole it, let the comedy inform you.
Why did you pick 12 Angry Men to Parody?
I picked 12 Angry men because I have an emotional attachment to this piece of work. Firstly, it’s one of my favourite plays and films starring one of my favourite actors Henry Fonda. It was directed by the great Sidney Lumet when he was only 28 years old. This is the same man who went on to direct Dog Day Afternoon in 1975. I, along with eleven other comedians performed the play at The Edinburgh Fringe in 2003. I was also in the West End production in 2013 with Martin Shaw in the lead and Robert Vaughan playing the old man. I played Juror 12. In my opinion a writer must have a fondness for whatever piece of work they are parodying. It’s almost impossible, for example, to parody Trump as he’s such a complete idiot, why bother? We also wanted to get the old cast of 2003 together again and do the play in Edinburgh in 2023 for the 20th anniversary, but the rights weren’t available, so I decided to write a parody. It’s taken 3 years to get it here.
What was the oddest thing you learned when researching this show?
I didn’t really have to do any research as like I say I knew the piece inside out.
What is your favourite part of the show?
That’s a tough question, but if I’m pushed, I’d say when three of the juror’s dance around like children and sing an old nursery rhyme to prove their point.
Why the Edinburgh Fringe?
The Edinburgh Fringe, because all the cast have a connection to it and are also doing their own shows. Plus, it’s the only place to try out something like this. Guy Masterson is one of the bravest producers around. No one else would be mad enough to take this on. God bless him.
