PREPARATION for a stage role comes in myriad forms. Take Andrew Lancel’s touring essentials for playing Juror 3 in Reginald Rose’s American courtroom drama Twelve Angry Men, for example.

“My portable iPod dock is very important, I listen to music all the time,” he says.

“I’ve been listening to Billy Joel loads, because he just sums up New York and he puts me in the frame of mind of New York when I’m playing this.”

Last seen at the Grand Opera House as bookseller and art dealer Adam Snow in Susan Hill’s ghost story The Small Hand last October, Andrew returns to the York theatre from Monday, appearing alongside Tom Conti, Robert Duncan and Denis Lill in Christopher Haydon’s touring production. The show has arrived in Yorkshire already, playing at Leeds Grand Theatre this week.

Lancel, best known for his soap days as Coronation Street villain Frank Foster, was so keen to be part of Haydon’s company that “I asked”. “It’s one of my favourite films, I’ve watched productions of it over the years, and I saw the recent West End run with Martin Shaw as Juror 8,” he says. “It’s a masterpiece of thought provocation; it makes people think.

“I love the company, [producer] Bill Kenwright’s company, I love the feeling of that family atmosphere. It’s unique. It’s also one of the best parts anyone could ever play. It’s a part people wouldn’t assume I’d be playing necessarily, which is one of the reasons for doing it. It’s American, I was very keen to work with Tom Conti, and I just couldn’t resist it.”

Was Andrew offered the part of Juror 3 or was it the one he most wanted to play? “Jurors number 8 and number 3 are THE parts. I would never assume or presume anything ever. One day I’ll play Juror 8, and I thought maybe I’ll do Juror 3 somewhere – and here I am,” he says.

For those not familiar with the play, or indeed the celebrated 1957 film that starred Henry Fonda, Andrew outlines the plot. “Well, the premise is 12 jury men have to decide the guilt or the innocence of a young boy accused of murdering his father. He’s 16 years old. It’s 1957, it’s New York, tempers are rising all over the country, there’s a whole new feeling scattering around, so these 12 men represent that time,” he says.

“But also what’s brilliant about it is that they represent this time. Everybody’s represented, every prejudice, every sympathy is represented in the play. One votes not guilty, and one by one, all our prejudices and sympathies come through bit by bit through the play. So it’s timeless.”

Among the 12 jurors, “it’s kind of like the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker; everyone has a defined role”, says Andrew. “Jurors 8 and 3 are probably the McEnroe and Borg, battling away, corner to corner, protagonist and antagonist.

“When people stop you and say, ‘what are you doing’, and I say, ‘Twelve Angry Men’, they say, ‘who played that in the film?’. Tom Conti’s playing the part made famous by Henry Fonda, but not in any way, shape or form like Henry Fonda. And I’m playing the part made famous by Lee J. Cobb, not in any way, shape or form...!” he says.

“There are huge shadows that go with those portrayals and parts, and we’re both very keen to make them our own while the other guys are making their parts their own.”

Andrew is appearing in an American play for the first time, requiring him to take on a New York accent. “I did a bit of study on it but it’s just something you do, I suppose. I placed him in a certain area of New York and I gave him a back story,” he says.

“For example, I’m not sure if it’s really been picked up on that he makes six religious references through the play. Only little ones, like ‘Jeez’ and ‘we don’t need a sermon’ and ‘we’re not in church’, things like that.

"So I thought, ‘well, that’s probably where he’s been’. And of course, there are huge gaping holes in this man’s life from his own family, and we see more of his family situation than anybody else. He exposes himself verbally. He’s probably the angriest of the 12 men.”

Andrew is working once more with Robert Duncan, his fellow cast member in The Small Hand last year. “In fact, we were talking about this production and this play while we were touring and I had this script with me and I was reading it because we were talking about it. I was going to go off and do something else after The Small Hand, but I kept thinking about this play, and Bill [producer Bill Kenwright] is somebody I love and who I love working for.”

Not only is Andrew “learning so much from this play”, but he also is passionate about Reginald Rose’s work. “The most important thing for me is the play and going from town to town and honouring the play and the people coming to see it –and that’s what’s so exciting about it.

“When we hit the regions, audiences laugh at different things and cry at different things. Not dropping the ball is very important; it’s a play you have to pack a punch with the whole time and so it’s really hard work, so it’s extremely important to me. You can’t not be passionate about it.”

Twelve Angry Men runs at Grand Opera House, Monday to Saturday, April 18, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm, Wednesday and Saturday. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york. Also Leeds Grand Theatre, today until this Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm, Saturday; 0844 848 2700 or leedsgrandtheatre.com