"To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.
A new stage adaptation by Aaron Sorkin.
I love the original book, the film starring Gregory Peck and I love this play, which still has relevance in today's society.
The book is a modern day literacy classic which was first published in 1960 but the content as relevant today as it was back in the segregation days of 1933 - 1935 when the story was set.
Thomas Jefferson had famously stated that all men were created equal but this story of injustice and the fight for what was right in the face of absurdity and humanity, proved his statement to be way off the mark. The story still has a hell of a lot of warmth and humour even though it deals with rape and racial inequality as the core storyline, but it is interesting to see how the minor storylines revolve around the main story.
Such was the power of the written word that British librarians once ranked the book ahead of the Bible as one "every adult should read before they die".
Southern lawyer, Atticus Finch is set to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. He wants to do what's right by Tom but the whole town of Maycomb, Alabama just knows that he ain't got a chance of getting Tom off due to the deep hatred of "niggers" of the town.
Older brother Jem and six year old Scout befriend a boy named Dill, who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt each summer. The three children are terrified of, and fascinated by, their neighbour, the reclusive "Boo" Radley. The story is narrated through the eyes of Scout, Jem, and Dill rather than their widowed father, Atticus.
At the trial Tom is found guilty but that is not enough for Mayella's father, Bob, who gains his revenge when Tom is murdered while awaiting trial. Bob though is also mysteriously killed after breaking Jem's arm but who stabbed Bob? Did he really fall on his own knife as told by Sheriff Tate? Or did the mysterious and shadowy "Boo" have some involvement?
Thomas Jefferson had famously stated that all men were created equal but this story of injustice and the fight for what was right in the face of absurdity and humanity, proved his statement to be way off the mark. The story still has a hell of a lot of warmth and humour even though it deals with rape and racial inequality as the core storyline, but it is interesting to see how the minor storylines revolve around the main story.
Such was the power of the written word that British librarians once ranked the book ahead of the Bible as one "every adult should read before they die".
Southern lawyer, Atticus Finch is set to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. He wants to do what's right by Tom but the whole town of Maycomb, Alabama just knows that he ain't got a chance of getting Tom off due to the deep hatred of "niggers" of the town.
Older brother Jem and six year old Scout befriend a boy named Dill, who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt each summer. The three children are terrified of, and fascinated by, their neighbour, the reclusive "Boo" Radley. The story is narrated through the eyes of Scout, Jem, and Dill rather than their widowed father, Atticus.
At the trial Tom is found guilty but that is not enough for Mayella's father, Bob, who gains his revenge when Tom is murdered while awaiting trial. Bob though is also mysteriously killed after breaking Jem's arm but who stabbed Bob? Did he really fall on his own knife as told by Sheriff Tate? Or did the mysterious and shadowy "Boo" have some involvement?
Richard Coyle, who has a theatrical and TV CV as long as your arm, returns to the role of Atticus Finch after playing the role in the West End back in 2022. Having played Atticus previously shows because of the comfortable feel around the character and the ease of the delivery plus the naturalness in the court room.
Anna Munden plays Scout Finch and Gabriel Scott plays Jem Finch; both fiercely supportive of their father and his decisions, but they're not afraid to slightly bend their father's rules when they want to.
Dylan Malyn plays Dill Harris, the young man who isn't as educated as the Finch children, and provides much of the comedy, and then near the end the coin is switched when we find out about his past; there's a lovely scene with just Dill and Atticus on Atticus's front porch. This show marks Dylan's professional stage debut, and a more confident debut you couldn't wish for. Brilliant character, wonderfully played.
Andrea Davy is Calpurnia, Atticus's maid and cook. A superb bubbling under scene with Atticus and Calpurnia comes to a head, also on the front porch, which explains the sudden passive/aggressive turn on Calpurnia's part towards Atticus.
Judge Taylor, who appoints Atticus to represent Robinson, is played by Stephen Boxer. This character made me smile with his very fair way of controlling the court as well as both prosecution and defence.
Aaron Shosanya plays Tom Robinson, the accused. Very measured in the performance, which is obviously a reflection of the fear that Robinson feels in an all white court room. It's no spoiler to say that the weighted white jury deliver a "guilty" verdict, but when the verdict comes in, it stills chills you to your stomach due to the racist slant of it all.
Oscar Pearce is Bob Ewell, Mayella's father. Oscar really brings out everything evil about the character, there are no redeeming features about this character, especially with the scene when he and his kind turn up outside the courthouse with just one aim on their minds. Their costumes make it easy to see which klan they belong to!
Evie Hargreaves plays Mayella Ewell. My feelings for Mayella have always flip-flopped because she is a victim as well, directing her anger at Robinson and Atticus and protecting the real rapist and abuser. Evie delivers a brilliant physicality to the role, especially when she is in the dock to give her evidence.
Richard Dempsey plays Horace Gilmer, Robinson's prosecutor. Like almost everyone in the court scenes, Gilmer has already made up his mind that Robinson is guilty just because of his colour, and gets angry when he doesn't get the answers he wants from Robinson, or when Atticus gets close to swaying opinions.
Sarah Finigan is Mrs Dubose, a widow who lives two doors down from the Finches. She’s ancient and unspeakably mean, shouting abuse from her porch at everyone, even at Scout, Jem and Dill, but loves camellias. When Jem takes revenge on Mrs Dubose's evil tongue by smashing down the flowers, Atticus makes Jem apologise for his actions.
Phillipa Flynn doubles up as Miss Stephanie, the town's gossip, and Dill's Mother who turns up at the end to take Dill away.
Mr Cunningham, who employs Atticus's legal services and pays in foodstuff and firewood. Atticus insists that although Cunninghams may be poor, they’re honorable. Later, he’s part of the mob that tries to antagonize Atticus for taking on Tom Robinson’s court case, but shamefully retreats after Scout asks him about Walter.
Boo Radley is a recluse, and his life is shrouded in mystery. At the beginning of the novel, his unwillingness to come out of the house leads to wild rumors. Arthur "Boo" Radley finally comes out on Halloween and we get to find out just who he is and what he is like. Both Cunningham and Radley are played by Harry Atwell.
Colin R Campbell plays Heck Tate, the sheriff in Maycomb. Tate gives testimony in court that supports Atticus’s argument that Robinson is innocent of the charges against him. He later shows that he does believe in justice when he declares that Mr. Ewell fell on his knife, thereby protecting another from unwanted attention or legal trouble.
Simon Hepworth is Link Deas who speaks out for Tom's integrity during his trial and provides evidence that Robinson could not have been the attacker.
Ensemble pieces are played by Paul Albertson, Tom Brace-Jenkins, Cheryl Burniston, Charlotte Luxford, James Mitchell, Tiwal Muza, John J O'Hagan, Oyin Orija and Jonathan Rubin.
Directed by Bartlett Sher with Associate Director being Louisa Muller. Although this production lasts the best part of three hours, they create a piece of theatre that completely holds your attention for every second of this timeless play; and those hours melt away. There's more comedy in this adaptation than I remember from previous productions and that balances really well with the intensity and bias of the story.
The set design is by Miriam Buether, Ed Pierce being the Design Supervisor. This has to be up for an award for best set design somewhere as we seamlessly switch from court room to Finch's front porch. This design shows the full expanse of the Playhouse stage at its' best.
Ann Roth's costume design really take you back to the mid 1930's Alabama with the various costumes clearly showing the class divide between the characters.
Joel Trill is the voice and dialect coach. This is one area that I always take notice of, especially when the dialect is as specific as it is. Every single actor mastered this accent with no deviation giving credibility to the story and area.
The Lighting Designer is Jennifer Tipton and Scott Lehrer is the Sound Designer.
Kimberley Grigsby is the Musical Supervisor and there's a lovely original score by Adam Guettel which I really appreciated during the scene changes.
This is a long play, coming in at just under three hours with interval, but the story is so captivating, made even more intense and enjoyable with the new stage adaptation by Aaron Sorkin, creating a fresh sheen on this classic American story.
I left the Playhouse feeling that I had witnessed something very special, and I had.
"To Kill A Mockingbird" is at the Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 18 October.