Eating your enemies gives you great strength.

The voices of the natives grow louder.
LIONEL: What is it?
THE ANTHROPOLOGIST: The wretches are doing some kind of dance. They're digging a pit.
LIONEL: Is it for a burial.
PETER: It's an oven, man.
About the Script


Synopsis

Set in the highlands of New Guinea in the 1930s, A Perverse Jury explores the twin themes of belief and practicality. A party of Australians are being led through the jungle to the site of the ‘New Paradise’ when their leader transgresses a tribal law. Kept prisoner by the natives, the travellers’ faith in their leader is tested until he eventually abandons them. They are then forced to choose one of their number as a sacrifice to appease their captors.



Cast

All in their early 20s, unless noted.
Billy
Jenny
Colleen
Lionel
Angela
Gail
Gary
Edith
John
Vera
Peter (from New Guinea)
The Anthropologist, mid-30s



Read the script

If you want to read the script please email me at simon@simonluckhurst.com.