Popular West End plays in short supply, claims Tom Conti

 
Robert Day
24 March 2014

Tom Conti has today said that the plays people want to see are in short supply in London theatre, but he still thinks the West End is magical.

Conti, 72, who will take over from Martin Shaw next Monday in the hit courtroom drama Twelve Angry Men, said he felt he had “a duty” to keep the show on the road as audiences seemed so keen to see it.

The play has already extended its run at the Garrick Theatre three times and is now booking until June 14.

The actor, voted alongside Judi Dench as the most popular West End star of the last 25 years by the Theatregoers’ Choice Awards, said it offered the satisfaction of a story where audiences want to know what happens next.

“If something is successful, why not keep it going? Plays that people want to see are in short supply in the West End. I always try to do plays that people want to see, where they’re thinking ‘what is going to happen next?’ That’s hugely important in theatre. There are quite a few plays [that get done] that don’t fit that bill. It’s fashion,” he said. Speaking of his new role, he added: “I had seen the movie 100 years ago and remembered it was smashing. I thought maybe it would be fun. And I still think there’s magic in West End theatre.”

Twelve Angry Men shows the deliberations of 12 jurors deciding the fate of a teenager accused of killing his father. It is best known from the 1957 film adaptation, in which Henry Fonda played the juror Conti will now portray in a cast that includes Robert Vaughn and Silent Witness’ William Gaminara.

Conti said he has resisted the temptation to watch the film again. “That’s the last thing you should do in case you get stuck on trying to out-Fonda Fonda, which is not going to work.”

And the actor hopes to have more courtroom drama ahead. He wants to find a London venue for Rough Justice by Terence Frisby, in which he has already played a man accused of killing his brain-damaged baby. Coincidentally, Martin Shaw created the role in the original production.

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