Storytellers Entertainment’s first adult production opens season – The Carillon

Storytellers Entertainment will open its 2026 season with its first adult production with the showing of “12 Angry Jurors.”

“The shows we’ve done, like for the youth, they’ve been a fun ride for sure. But I guess it’s just kind of, for some of our adult actors, it’s not quite the kind of shows they’re looking for, I suppose. And yeah, we kind of just wanted to give a show that was more towards our adult actors,” said Storytellers Entertainment founder, director, and actor Devon Littlejohn, noting this is the first time the company is producing a drama piece.

The play is a take on the famous 1957 movie 12 Angry Men starring Henry Fonda and Jack Klugman. In the Storyteller production, a 19-year-old stands trial for the murder of his father, and the case appears open-and-shut—until one juror begins to question the evidence. What follows is a gripping and thought-provoking deliberation where personal bias, perspective, and the true meaning of justice are put to the test, according to the theatre company’s Facebook page.

The idea to do the play came about during last year’s production of “Hansel and Gretel” when Littlejohn and “12 Angry Jurors”’ director Andrew Derksen decided to produce the drama as they had plenty of adult actors in the company. Also, Derksen had acted in the Candlewick Productions’ version of “12 Angry Men” a couple of years ago where Littlejohn was an audience member and when they heard of “12 Angry Jurors” it seemed like a natural fit.

“After some chatting back and forth, we ultimately settled on that one,” said Littlejohn.

Normally, Littlejohn directs all of Storytellers’ plays, but this time he gave the reins to Derksen and took the role of assistant director and actor in this production; he plays the foreman of the jury. Littlejohn said it felt “pretty good” to hand the directing job to someone else.

“This may not come as a surprise, but being the director could certainly be a challenge at times. And yeah, I’m honored that I was one of the people that Andrew wanted to have be in the show. And it just feels nice to just kind of have that kind of pressure as director to be like lifted off of me and then I could just focus on acting with everyone else.”

Littlejohn said as a director, Derksen is “very articulate on the analytical side.” He said when the cast is in rehearsal, Derksen already has a vision planned out on what he wants to see, which Littlejohn said makes it easier for the cast because he gives very clear instructions on what they should do and how they should do it.

“He gives some leeway when it comes to characterization. During the first rehearsal when we started handing out scripts, it was like most scripts come with the character description and all that, he already told us to look at that as a guideline, (and) don’t fully use that as a reference to the character.”

Actors for the play are coming from all over the RM of Hanover and Winnipeg. Littlejohn said there are three actors who stand out in the production: Danielle (Juror 12) and Chris (Juror Three) Kirpluk from Mitchell and Anna Vasilchuk (Juror Five) from Kleefeld.

“(The Kirpluks) have been with our group for a number of years already. And every time the Kirpluk family has been in the show, they’ve just been phenomenal. They’re really good at what they do. In fact, I believe the Kirpluks are now involved in shows like “Broadway Moments.” Even like Danielle Kirpluk, she played the one leading lady in “Fiddler on the Roof” last year.”

“The Kirpluks take their craft very seriously. That’s probably one of the greatest things too. They’re really down-to-earth. They’re fun to work with. They take direction really well.”

Regarding Vasilchuk, who is one of the younger jurors, Littlejohn said he is amazed at her acting as she is keeping up with the mature tone of the play and the dramatic setting.

“There’s a certain flair you got to add, or there’s a certain way you got to act during the show to truly convince the audience what you’re doing here. And Anna is still in high school and the fact that she’s keeping up with like everyone else too, it’s just amazing to see.”

Littlejohn said the play has strong acting, is dramatic, and since it takes place in one setting where all the actors are on the stage at the same time throughout the play, it forces the actors to be thoughtful in their delivery of the dialogue and how to make that dialogue interesting for the audience.

“I’m pretty confident people will react positively to that…It’s very much a character-driven play more than anything else, really, that relies heavily on its dialogue.”

Littlejohn said the play is for those who are 12 years old and up and that there is no swearing or sexual content in the show.

Going forward, Littlejohn said Storytellers will do more dramatic and comedic adult plays. He said there will be three different types of casts and plays: Adult, youth, and adult and youth mixed.

If everything falls into place, Littlejohn said the next youth production in May will be a comedic and family friendly production of “12 Angry Jurors.”

To buy tickets to “12 Angry Jurors” visit zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/12-angry-jurors-3 or buy them at the Pat Porter Active Living Centre in Steinbach. The centre is also where the play will be shown on April 24 at 7 p.m. and on April 25 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $15. Run time for the show is about 80 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.