TOM Conti is among seven members of the West End cast who will re-join the Twelve Angry Men company for its national tour following a record-breaking run at the Garrick Theatre in London.

Olivier and Tony Award winner and Oscar nominee Conti will play juror number 8, the part made famous by Henry Fonda in the 1957 film, when the American courtroom drama visits the Grand Opera House, York, from April 13 to 18.

The 73-year-old Conti, who is best known for his film roles in Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence and Shirley Valentine, will be joined by the company's new jury member, Andrew Lancel, formerly the villainous businessman Frank Foster in Coronation Street, on his return to the Grand Opera House after appearing in The Small Hand in late-October.

Robert Duncan starred in that Susan Hill thriller too and now the Drop The Dead Donkey regular will reunite with Lancel, taking his place on the jury once more with fellow returnees Andrew Frame, David Calvitto, Mark Carter and Sean Power, while Jon Carver will reprise his role as The Guard.

The jury will be completed by Dennis Lill, Paul Beech, Alexander Forsyth, Edward Halsted and Gareth David-Lloyd in a touring production that will open on January 27, directed by Christopher Haydon, artistic director of The Gate Theatre, Notting Hill.

Reginald Rose's Twelve Angry Men originated as a television play and has been adapted for film, radio and stage. Its plot follows 12 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 12, whose prejudices and preconceived ideas of the accused, the trial and each other turn the tables every which way, until the nail-biting climax.

The tour also will visit Leeds Grand Theatre from April 6 to 11, the week before the York run. Box office: York, 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york; Leeds, 0844 848 2700 or leedsgrandtheatre.com