If you love classic courtroom drama, then The Verdict is probably one of the best that you’ll ever see on stage.

And those lucky enough to have tickets for the Middle Ground Theatre Company production at the Theatre Royal in Bath last week will surely testify.

Barry Reed’s gripping courtroom thriller finished its week-long tour on Saturday, April 22 and featured a 15-strong cast led by Jason Merrells of Waterloo Road and Emmerdale fame, Richard Walsh and Reanne Farley.

Adapted for the stage by Margaret May Hobbs, The Verdict is directed and designed by Michael Lunney.

The story is simple: washed-up alcoholic lawyer Frank Galvin is presented with one last chance to salvage his career by taking on an open-and-shut medical malpractice case that no-one thinks he can win.

He’s urged to accept an out-of-court settlement of $300,000 but Galvin rejects it and finds himself fighting for justice against the unforgiving medical establishment and the Catholic Church.

Courageously, he believes that medical negligence has condemned a young mother to spending the rest of her life in a vegetative state after a medical procedure goes wrong during childbirth at one of the big city hospitals in Boston.

Sensing a cover up, he instead takes the case and the entire legal system to court in a desperate bid to win justice for her and her mother Mrs McDaid and redeem himself.

But when he gets the case to court, he finds he’s up against one of the best defence attorneys in the country and a blatantly biased judge. 

Jason Merrells gives a believable and sensitive performance as Frank Galvin, struggling to overcome his marital and alcohol problems.

He’s emerged from the shadows of a childhood blighted by the tragic death of his well-loved and respected doctor father at the age of 36.

Richard Walsh is commanding both as the Catholic Bishop Brophy fighting to maintain the reputation of the St Catherine Laboure Hospital, and also as Judge Eldredge Sweeney.

Reanne Farley is beguiling as the ‘femme fatale’ barmaid who is really spying on Galvin for the wily defence attorney J Edgar Concannon.

Act 1 takes place mainly in Galvin’s office and the nearby Meehan’s bar, with the two literally sitting side by side on a detailed stage that looks to be too crowded.

There is a brief scene in the hospital ward when Galvin finally plucks up the courage to visit the young mother in the Boston hospital ward.

Other scenes take place in Concannon’s boardroom at Guthrie, Cabot and Moore, and in Judge Sweeney’s chambers.

But The Verdict really comes into its own as the drama moves into the County of Suffolk courtroom and a Boston café.

In Act 2, Merrell is well matched by Nigel Barber as the brilliant defence attorney J Edgar Concannon, who has never lost a case and is determined to win at any cost.

The pair are well supported by the rest of the cast who portray the remaining characters in this often tense and absorbing drama.

They include Vincent Pirillo as Galvin’s Jewish legal mentor Moe Katz and Teresa Jennings in the sensitive role of Nurse Mary Rooney.

The plot crackles along at a fairly fast pace with all of the usual twists and turns that you might expect.

This classic courtroom drama was first written as a novel in 1980 and became a best-seller. Two years later it was adapted as a film starring Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling and James Mason.

This stage adaptation is a first-rate production that should not be missed.

To book tickets for shows at the Theatre Royal Bath call the box office on 01225 448844 or visit www.theatreroyal.org.uk