Baker's Dozen: 12 Angry Puppets: Skillful Delivery of a Classic Plot

George, the periwinkle-colored old man puppet from the jury, accompanied Adam Francis Proulx to the Fringe Box office Friday afternoon to drum up some interest for his performance here in Vancouver. Judging by the line-up at 10:30 pm on his first night, I would say he managed that. The acclaim he gained at the Montreal and Toronto Fringe earlier this year might have something to do with it as well.

Proulx is an excellent and versatile actor. He characterized all 12 jurors on the murder trial with one blank “periwinkle “puppet. Each character has his/her own perceptions, biases about the murder, the suspects, the motive, the relationship between the characters and life itself.

I loved the gum chewing young woman puppet with her ‘blond’ attitude (even though she sported red hair). She made some very smart observations about ‘judgement’ in a flash of insight before falling back into her stereo type of ‘air head’.  I did not discover her again in the crescendo of angry jury exchange that was cleverly lighted to avoid character changing towards the end.

How evidence in a murder case is evaluated, and if the jury system of fallible humans is the right way to reach a fair verdict, is one of the socially critical aspects of the play. Proulx accomplishes this in a similar way to the old 1957 black and white film classic “12 Angry Men” with Henry Fonda, but in a light hearted, funny way. He also throws in some comments of current celebrities’ issues like Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Cosby and Stephen Harper.

Proulx’s strength is clearly in bringing his puppet characters to life. He is in his element and comfortable on the stage. A wonderful piece of art. I would like to leave you with the words of one of his jurors: “I love a man who is good with his hands!”

Very clever and funny, go and enjoy it. You won’t regret it!!

By Birgit Martens