Paul Newman made it his own on screen when he took the part of Frank Galvin in the Verdict, now a theatre production of it is coming to south London.
With Middle Ground Theatre Company’s production of The Verdict coming to the Churchill Theatre this month as part of a six-month national tour, star of the show Jason Merrells – familiar for his TV roles in Emmerdale, Casualty, Waterloo Road and Happy Valley – talks playing the lead part of Frank Galvin, made famous by Paul Newman in the 1982 film.
For those unfamiliar with Barry Reed’s 1980 novel or the 1982 movie adaptation starring Paul Newman, how would you describe the plot of The Verdict?
Jason Merrells (JM): It’s a courtroom drama – the story of a washed up, middle-aged alcoholic lawyer called Frank Galvin, who lives in Boston [Massachusetts] in the early 1980s.
He’s a World War Two veteran, a drinker, and his marriage is in a mess. He spends his time looking in the local newspaper for deaths and injuries so he can offer his services as a lawyer, so he’s on the very lowest rung of the legal ladder. Then this case comes before him, a medical malpractice case. He’s offered a settlement, but he goes to see the patient who’s in a coma, and he decides that this is the case he has to fight.
It becomes a kind of tale of personal redemption for him, a kind of heroic effort against all the odds and against the establishment of Boston.
What drew you to the part and the play in general?
JM: The interesting thing about this story for me is that he’s a flawed man who does something good.
I think that works both ways: good people can do bad things [and] bad people can do good things. But this becomes an opportunity for him to put all that guilt and worry about his life behind him and do something right.
Regardless of whether people have seen the film or read the book, why should they come and see the show?
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JM: I would recommend it because it’s a fantastic story and a wonderful company [staging it].
It’s funny, it’s warm, it’s heartbreaking. It’s a love story, but mainly it’s a tale of redemption. And I think everyone can benefit from seeing something like that.
How does it compare to the 1982 film version?
JM: Well, I’m a huge fan of Paul Newman – I think he’s wonderful. [He’s] an amazing actor, and his performance in The Verdict is superlative. It’s slightly different from what we’re doing, although it’s the same story.
I think there is a level of detail in our play from the novel that the film wasn’t perhaps able to do.
I saw it a long time ago and I deliberately didn’t go back to it when I got this job because I didn’t want my head full of his brilliance.
I wanted to approach it in my own way and do something that was good for theatre.
Churchill Theatre, High Street, Bromley BR1 1HA.
June 13 – 17, 7:30pm – 10:10pm.
Admission: £18 – £39.
