Amelia Cropley
Much to my excitement, alongside many other Harper Lee fans, Nottingham is the current proud host to the astonishing stage adaptation To Kill A Mockingbird that is touring its way through the UK. And what is not unlike the book, the night was filled with a harsh tenderness that could cut like a knife, not only in witnessing the injustice inside of the most beloved classics of our time, but through the innocence and prosperity of a child’s eyes – a particular detail which was executed to a fault.
From the opening of the curtains, it became transparent that Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation would capture Harper Lee’s craft and story with faithful sincerity. And from the first appearance of a girl in dungarees, the audience knows they have their beloved Scout Finch in front of them, with her tomboy nature and dangerously impressive inquisitiveness. However, the story begins with a collective narration between Scout (Anna Munden), Jem (Gabriel Scott) and Dill (Dylan Malyn), that I particularly admired and, very surprisingly, turned such a horrific tale into one with much comedic relief. The collective narration was beautifully refreshing from the novel as Scout, whilst still the central character, is shown in her entirely, which includes Jem and Dill as they experience the events in their small town in 1930’s Alabama together.
This brought a certain vitality and poignancy to the scenes, as even only children, they could decipher the rights, wrongs and injustices that played out in front of them.
Quite literally as if picking them out of the book, the children were the heart of the play, from Scout’s classic inquisitiveness and refusal to be ‘girly’, to Jem’s older-brother status and Dill’s newfound quirky and unknowingly hilarious personality that was refreshing from the novel. In every scene, they were funny children searching for answers to serious questions, and presents how we teach children, morality and justice.
And there was rarely a moment this unparalleled trio was not in a scene. This adaptation made sure that, as narrators and curious children, Scout, Jem and Dill were integral voices in scenes they were not even a part of, and this was something I deeply respected as a lover of Lee’s novel. The courtroom, for example, arguably the setting of the most important scenes, does not feature (with the final court session the exception) the children’s presence, but as narrators, they labelled the scenes, walked around, investigated the characters and stopped the motion of the script to fill the audience in. This brought a certain vitality and poignancy to the scenes, as even only children they could decipher the rights, wrongs and injustices that played out in front of them.
Alongside this, the narration flips back and forth just like excited children getting ahead of themselves when telling a story, or a break from a serious monologue to play-fight with their sibling. It was moments like this that captured the beauty that To Kill A Mockingbird fans hold so close to their hearts. As an ode to the comedy that this adaptation skillfully brought to the tale, Scout, Jem and Dill could often be seen eavesdropping on scenes their father, Atticus, aims to shield them from. In the beautiful set of suburban American homes with their front porches, the children are often peering through the doors or round the stage to catch updates of the Tom Robinson trail, both in the comedy of untameable children and in the touching admiration of their investment in the justice of a wronged man due to his race.
With that being said, the set design was admirable, from the front porch of the Finch’s home to the set up of the court room that brought shudders down spines, they all mirrored the climate that southern America, much like the rest of the world, faced when it came to racial inequality. With the witness stand centre stage, those called up to testify were not only in front of the whole court or town, but the audience too, a decision that made me feel as if part of the jury, something Lee and Sorkin will have intended.
A distinct part of this adaptation was, undoubtedly, Atticus Finch, a beacon of morality in the whole of literature, and whom, played by Richard Coyle, was composed with a tenderness and compassion signature to Atticus. Coyle was relaxed and rational all throughout the play, much to others annoyance, but to the audience’s admiration. Mirroring the complexity of Atticus, Coyle became not only a lawyer with justice on his mind but a single father, a moral compass, and a targeted man for standing up to equality and not afraid of his voice. Much of the play’s comedy was directed towards Atticus (if not Dill); from his children mocking his paternal speeches to others commenting on how incredibly fair he is – in fact, almost too fair – but this comedy proved very successful in understanding his morals and the characters around him.
The presence of Calpurnia’s warmth was sincerely missed, but despite this, Calpurnia was still a beating heart in the middle of the production and Andrea Davey was an utterly perfect rendition.
Similarly, Calpurnia, played with Andrea Davey’s heart and soul, was a softness in such a harsh reality. Whilst Scout and Jem entertained me the entire night, one of my favourite lines was the inspection that Calpurnia and Atticus were like them; like brother and sister (said as Atticus and Calpurnia are upstage silently arguing and moving the placement of the table cloth). This in particular was a duo I appreciated greatly due to its prominence in this adaptation in comparison to the book. Calpurnia is absolutely a role model in this production alongside comedic relief, however, I couldn’t help but think the play could have played to strengths of Calpurnia more, for there was no scene of her taking Jem and Scout to church, or imparting as much wisdom as I remember. The presence of Calpurnia’s warmth was sincerely missed, but despite this, Calpurnia was still a beating heart in the middle of the production and Andrea Davey was an utterly perfect rendition.
Playing into the ever-present theme of a child’s curiosity was the evolution of Boo Radley, though I did find this sometimes became lost in the plot. With the chewing gum in the tree and the voodoo dolls, I only recognised Boo Radley’s work from my acquaintance with the novel. However, in a sense, that meant the audience was in a similar state of knowledge as the characters. Regardless, the moment in which Boo Radley is found behind Jem’s bedroom door was a truly spellbinding moment, as a character you never see before up until the play’s closing it had a similar effect to the book. This adaptation very much prioritised Tom Robinson’s trail over the children’s want to meet Boo Radley, but given the climate of the play, it felt like this was the correct decision.
From the highest pitch of Pearce’s blaming screams, we are reminded of what to not be, and what personalities do not create a harmonious future.
Oscar Pearce’s portrayal of Bob Ewell was utterly chilling, and as an epitome of white supremacists, his presentation of such an evil character was petrifying, and I give credit to Pearce who must act out such violence and verbal abuse. It is, without a doubt, a hard and troubling play to watch and I think this is what makes it so evident it is faithful to the book. The outdated language cannot go unmentioned, it is vulgar and, I found, unbearable to hear, with each mention of certain racially charged words cutting like a knife. And yet the inclusion of this outdated language is used critically, it is meant to make you shudder in disgust that someone could use such vile language to another human due to race and prejudice. From the highest pitch of Pearce’s blaming screams, we are reminded of what to not be, and what personalities do not create a harmonious future. 
Alongside Bob Ewell’s acrimonious and sadistic character, Evie Hargreaves’s enactment of his daughter, Mayella, the other victim of this novel, presented the timeless depiction of female oppression under patriarchal rule, and from Hargreaves’s uncomfortable squirming in the witness chair to her outbursts of a frightened young girl, the oppression of two hegemonised social groups are represented simultaneously.
But finally, before this review concludes, Aaron Shosanya’s quiet and gentle characterisation of Tom Robinson made him a central character to a story that originally focuses, but does not centre, on him. Shosanya’s deliverance of his few lines presents the innocence and harmlessness of his character, and only enhances the absurdity of his trail. With his back to the audience most of the time, sitting with Atticus on the defence table of the court room, the audience are forced to look at the back of his head and hope for his justice, to watch this rush of disaster fall upon him as he sits in his guiltlessness. To watch his character and conversations with Atticus throughout the production only enhanced the poignancy and controversy of Tom Robinson’s fate at the end of the play – igniting the anger of injustice and the emotion of oppression.
Whilst no audience member is likely to walk into the theatre thinking it will be a light-hearted watch, this production of To Kill A Mockingbird was truly remarkable, not only for its critical and emotional depth, but for the lightheartedness of what its like to be a child in an unjust world. This production has given an old (yet loved) novel a new lease of life, preserving the essence of Harper Lee’s novel and revitalising the emotions as we move through the story.
Amelia Cropley
Featured image courtesy of Paolo Chiabrando on Unsplash. Photo edited for Impact on Canva. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image 1 courtesy of Johan Persson. Permisison to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image 2 courtesy of Johan Persson. Permisison to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image 3 courtesy of Johan Persson. Permisison to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image 4 courtesy of Johan Persson. Permisison to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
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