A gripping and compelling adaptation of Harper Lee’s classic story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What’s it about?
Set in Alabama during the Great Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows lawyer Atticus Finch as he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. The case exposes the deep-rooted racism and prejudice within the community, while Atticus’s children, Scout and Jem, begin to understand the uncomfortable realities of the adult world around them.
The production opened on Broadway in 2018, receiving nine Tony Award nominations. It transferred to the West End in 2022, where it was nominated for Best New Play at the Olivier Awards, before touring the UK and now returning to for a limited season with Richard Coyle reprising the role of Atticus Finch.
What we loved
The production places the Finch children at the centre of the storytelling. Scout, Jem and their friend Dill narrate events directly to the audience, moving between their childhood experiences and a more reflective understanding of what they witnessed. It works extremely well, allowing the production to retain the perspective and innocence of Harper Lee’s novel while giving the stage adaptation its own distinctive theatrical language.
Evie Hargreaves as Scout, Gabriel Scott as Jem and Dylan Malyn as Dill make a wonderful trio. Their performances bring humour, youthfulness and energy to the production. We experience the story through them, watching their understanding of their father, their neighbours and the world around them gradually change.
Miriam Buether’s set design is equally effective. Rather than attempting to recreate Maycomb realistically, individual set pieces are assembled in front of us by the company. Pieces roll on, drop from the flies and then a few moments later, the stage has suddenly become a courtroom. This reinforces the sense that Scout, Jem and Dill are constructing these places from their memories as they tell us what happened.
At the centre of the play is Richard Coyle as Atticus Finch, and he is wonderful. His Atticus is charismatic and intelligent. Coyle gives him warmth, wit and quiet authority, making it completely believable that his children look to him to make sense of an increasingly difficult world.
Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation also gives the story tremendous momentum. At almost three hours, this is a substantial piece of theatre, but it never feels long remaining gripping and compelling. The courtroom scenes are particularly compelling.
Anything we’d change?
No, we loved it !
Who would enjoy it?
Wide appeal for anyone who enjoys a good drama.
Verdict
A compelling, intelligent and beautifully staged production.
Booking
For this production, we booked using SeatPlan which was super easy to use and has the benefit of allowing you to see what your view of the stage from any seat in the theatre would be. It’s a great way to see before you buy and make the necessary trade-offs between view and price. You can make sure you're paying for something that is important to you and there are no surprises when you take your seat in the theatre from unexpected sight lines. Each seat also has ratings on seat legroom, comfort and view by other theatre goers which is helpful. Check it out at https://seatplan.com