This tour of the record-breaking London production arrives at the Yvonne Arnaud in March

Twelve Angry Men follows twelve jurors who have murder on their minds and a life in their hands as they decide the fate of a young delinquent accused of killing his father.

What appears to be an open and shut case soon becomes a dilemma for the twelve, as their prejudices and preconceived ideas about the accused, the trial and each other, turn the tables every which way until the nail-biting climax.

Seven of the West End cast will re-join the acclaimed production following its record-breaking run at London’s Garrick Theatre.

Tom Conti returns as juror number 8, the role made famous by Henry Fonda.

Taking their places on the jury once more are Robert Duncan (Gus Hedges in Drop the Dead Donkey), Andrew Frame (PC Hargreaves in EastEnders), David Calvitto, Mark Carter, Sean Power and Jon Carver (Sgt Vic Scott in Doctors).

Forming the rest of the jury are Denis Lill, Paul Beech, Alexander Forsyth, Edward Halsted and Gareth David-Lloyd, who is best known for his role as Ianto Jones in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood.

Q: So here you are again as Juror number 8, six months after your successful West End run – what was it about reprising your role for a UK tour that appealed to you?

A: “It’s good fun to do this play and I thought it would be fun doing it around the country. People outside of London really like to come to the theatre. In London you kind of have to drag them kicking and screaming into town because for lots of people, it’s such a difficult event coming into town. Outside of London they gladly go to the theatre and they like to. And it’s nice to take a play which you know they will enjoy.”

How are rehearsals going? This must be so familiar to you.

“It’s not all that long ago I was in it in the West End, only six months since we did it, so it was pretty much still embedded. It’s strange, but plays do stay in your mind for a long time. If you were asked to say a line from one you probably wouldn’t be able to, but as soon as you get with a bunch of actors and you all start doing it, it’s all lodged in there, you just have to find the route and what drawer it’s in, as it were, in your mind. And it’s there almost intact. You need to brush up on little bits here and there, but on the whole, it’s still there.”

You starred with Sean Power, Robert Duncan and David Calvitto at the Garrick, but how well do you know your other new cast mates? Have you worked with any of them before?

“No, not at all. We’re getting on very well, it’s a very good ensemble. Everyone has the same sort of problem so everyone is sympathetic to everyone else’s problems because we all have the same ones.”

For those that are not familiar with the play, tell us about the premise and your role?

“It’s very simple, but I don’t want to give anything away. A 16-year-old boy has been on trial, accused of murdering his father and the jurors – a motely lot really – don’t particularly want to spend any time doing this, and they’re happy to vote guilty and send the boy to his death.

And in those days, electrocution was the punishment, the end of life, if you’d killed somebody, and still is in many parts of America, unfortunately.

So they know they’re going to send him to certain death, but they’re not prepared to actually take time to discuss the possibilities of the case, except for one man who is worried about it and he votes ‘not guilty’ against all the ‘guilty’ votes so it’s 11-1.

And so he starts to try to persuade them to think a bit more deeply – and that’s the play.”

Have you ever done jury service?

“No, I have never been summoned. A friend of mine that has done it told me they found the jurors all took the case very seriously and behaved pretty responsibly. But that’s not always the case. In fact, it’s been written by a juror – without mentioning the case of course – who was appalled by the poverty of the deliberations by the other jurors.

And you’re putting a life into your hands and you’ve got to be very careful. To send a man to jail for a year, a year in prison is a long, long time.”

It was a sold-out smash in the West End and had its run extended twice – will it be as successful on the road, especially with you leading the cast?

“I think it’ll be even more successful on tour because it’s the kind of play people really want to see. It’s a good cast and for some reason, people like to come and see me in plays on tour (laughs). This used to be the way it was too. A play would run in London and then if it was successful, it would tour so people around the country were seeing a successful West End play.

Then that changed and tours are played now before going into the West End because it helps the capitalisation of the West End production, which is phenomenally expensive.

But this time it’s gone back to the old formula of doing the play, making it a hit in the West End and then taking the hit around the rest of the country. And people know they’re going to see a tried and tested piece.”

What’s the most important thing about touring for you?

“The one vital thing is to travel with your own pillow! It’s the most important thing. The hotel ones are usually filled with I-don’t-know-what, so take your own pillow. One of the nice things about touring is that you see a lot of the English countryside and villages. And I love English villages, just love them, they’re so beautiful, all over the country and diverse in their form. And old tea shops and all that, so that’s something to look forward to.”

Do you have any more plans for 2015?

“I have another play in the autumn, also with Bill Kenwright, which is called Before the Party, so when this is finished we’ll start planning that production.”

An Olivier and Tony Award, an Oscar nomination - you’ve had an amazing career, what have been your highlights?

“There were things that were immense fun to do. A musical called They’re Playing Our Song which I did in about 1980. It was a two-hander with the wonderful Gemma Craven and myself, as well as other dancers, and Gemma was absolutely brilliant, it was a wonderful script and it was like going to a party every night with all the best jokes.

As for movies, there’s one which nobody ever saw as it was made-for-TV, but was immense fun to do and was directed by Robert Altman. Again, it was a two-hander with John Travolta and myself, and it was originally a play by Harold Pinter called The Dumb Waiter and it’s one of funniest things I’ve ever done.

In fact, there were times where we couldn’t continue because we were laughing so much, it was so funny. Harold hated it though (laughs).”

Box Office: 01483 44 00 00, yvonne-arnaud.co.uk