SINGAPORE — Twelve Angry Men by Nine Years Theatre equals one impressive debut.

After testing the waters with last year’s Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, theare couple Nelson Chia and Mia Chee officially announce the arrival of their new Mandarin theatre company with a very solid rendition of Reginald Rose’s award-winning play about the jury of a homicide case.

With the life of a teenage boy at stake, 12 men gather to “separate facts from fancy” before delivering their verdict. What seems to be a clear-cut, water-tight situation that presumably screams bloody murder is punctured by a dissenting voice.

In the age of fast-paced, complicated courtroom dramas and hip forensic investigations on TV, does this piece from the 1950s hold its own? It does.

In fact, you could say that under Chia’s direction, it swaggers with as much confidence as the characters do when they first step inside this temporary bubble of a world of pure judgement. It’s an environment that, in itself, is a feat in mood-setting. Wong Chee Wai’s wedge-like room is framed by windows through which one becomes acutely aware of an outside and of time passing by (it actually rains at some point), supported by Lim Woan Wen’s subtle lighting changes.

Its two-hour running time becomes an afterthought in this meticulously paced showcase of men butting heads as evidence and witness testimonies are examined and re-examined, votes repeatedly held — and as doubt slowly creeps in and biases are unearthed, the balance of opinion tilts.

What proves to be fascinating isn’t so much one’s expectation of outcome (which is more predictable than explosive) as it is the twisting-and-turning group dynamic that lies at the heart of Twelve Angry Men.

Instead of a messy free-for-all that one imagines emerging from a testosterone-fueled scenario involving a dozen opinionated men trapped in a room to debate, Rose crafts distinctive, memorable characters that serve as a cross section of society (albeit the skewed male-centric kind of its milieu).

And these are brought to life by a wonderful ensemble of actors. With such a tight chemistry among the twelve, it would seem simplistic to single out performances from a band of brothers playing and feeding off each others’ energies. That said, Jeffrey Low’s character provides the piece’s rock-solid moral ballast around which revolve memorable moments by fellow jurors, such as Robin Goh’s ambiguously bigoted character, Julius Foo’s level-headed stockbroker, Darius Tan’s conscientious new immigrant and Tay Kong Hui’s motormouthed businessman.

Indeed, as the jury ponder over the facts of the case and the fate of the supposed perpetrator, the audience finds itself playing the role of jury as well — and it’s these very men that are put on trial. Not for murder, of course, but for their humanity.

So what’s the verdict for Nine Years Theatre’s debut production? Without reasonable doubt, we find it guilty of inflicting good theatre upon us.

Twelve Angry Men runs until Feb 17, 2.30pm and 8pm, Esplanade Theatre Studio. Tickets at S$35 from Sistic. In Mandarin with English surtitles. For more details on Huayi Festival, visit http://www.huayifestival.com.sg