Review: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, King's Theatre
To Kill A Mockingbird runs at the King's Theatre until 8 November
Based on Harper Lee’s 1960 novel, this production of To Kill A Mockingbird is written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Barlett Sher.
Tom Robinson (Aaron Shosanya) is a black man from the Deep South who has been accused of raping a white teenager, Mayella Ewell (Evie Hargreaves). The judge appoints Atticus Finch (Richard Coyle) as his lawyer, as he isn’t convinced that the version of events happened as Mayella and her abusive father insist.
Atticus Finch is widely known as the most decent man in town. The story is told through the eyes of his plucky young children —his son Jem (Gabriel Scott) and Scout (Anna Munden), who have been raised with their father's thirst for justice. The pair bicker but are incredibly close and always look out for each other. Munden has such brilliant childlike physicality that works so well to show that despite her confidence and maturity, she is still a young girl.
This production does an excellent job of balancing light and dark- particularly in the scene where Atticus camps out outside of Robinson’s call to prevent him from being lynched. Always calm and collected, he brings his own lamp as he doesn’t expect the county jail to have adequate lighting.
There’s a lot of jarring language and imagery in To Kill A Mockingbird, which reflects the political tensions of the time. Aaron Sorkin’s writing is sharp, witty and brings humour to a grave situation. Miriam Buether’s set design moves seamlessly from the Finch’s front porch to the dominating courtroom.
Running at nearly three hours with an interval, it's a fairly long piece of theatre, but it doesn’t feel like it. The wonderful performances and fast-paced dialogue ensure that you remain thoroughly engrossed. Heartbreaking and gripping, this surely has to be the definitive adaptation of the classic novel.
Photo credit: Johan Persson
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