To Kill A Mockingbird - Nottingham Playhouse Review

★★★★★

Based on Harper Lee's classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation transports us to 1930s Alabama, throwing us straight into the trial of Tom Robinson (Aaron Shosanya), a black farmer accused of raping a young white lady (Evie Hargreaves as Mayella Ewell), the sentence of which is the death penalty. The play wastes no time in dropping us in at the deep end, with Robinson in the dock and Sheriff Heck Tate (Colin R Campbell) giving evidence. It is a tense and dramatic start to a play that grips you and doesn’t let go until the final curtain. The play is not a mystery – Robinson’s innocence is plain to see from the off- set, and Shosanya creates such a likeable, polite character that the audience cannot help but root for him to be acquitted. The accusation falls at his feet as a result of the racism of Hargreaves’ Mayella and her father Bob (Oscar Pearce). Robinson faces an uphill battle to prove his innocence. Fortunately, in his corner is lawyer Atticus Finch (Richard Coyle), who tries every trick in the book to get the jury on Robinson’s side.

Aaron Shosanya (Tom Robinson) in To Kill a Mockingbird. Photo by Johan Persson.

Coyle’s Finch is straight-talking, logical and played with particular precision. He has some long speeches, but every word feels important, and Coyle makes the most of every syllable of Sorkin’s text. His attempt to treat everyone with respect and kindness angers other residents, particularly his maid Calpurnia (Andrea Davy), who accuses Finch of showing too much support to the racists by not calling them out on their behaviour. Finch strives so hard to avoid upsetting everyone that he inadvertently causes friction with his close friends and family. This set-up during the first act makes the second act even more dramatic when Finch finally begins to snap – the anger that flows from Coyle is raw and powerful, and the audience collectively holds their breath as he finally confronts Bob Ewell.

The story is narrated by Finch’s two children, Scout (Anna Munden) and Jem (Gabriel Scott), along with their friend Dill (Dylan Malyn). Seeing these tragic and often horrific scenes through the eyes of children makes them even more poignant and effective. These three actors are clearly not the same age as the children they are playing (Scout is around 8 years old, whilst Jem is about 12), but they bring youthful energy that makes their characters believable. Sometimes, when adults take on the role of children, it can be to the detriment of their character; lines can be overacted or come across as insincere. This is not the case here – Scout, Jem and Dill are all played with utmost sincerity, innocent yet knowledgeable, explaining the intricacies of this tale with clarity and childlike understanding.

Richard Coyle (Atticus Finch) in To Kill a Mockingbird. Photo by Johan Persson.

Miriam Buether’s set design mirrors this notion of ‘storytelling’; the entire play seems to take place in an abandoned warehouse, with different set pieces appearing and disappearing as the story requires, transporting us to a variety of locations, including the courthouse and Finch’s front porch. These transitions are often led by our three narrators, who describe the scene to the audience as the rest of the cast builds the set around them. It is like being inside the mind of these children, a blank canvas that slowly fills up with memories, facts, and characters. Each transition is accompanied by soft, acoustic music (Scott Lehrer, Adam Guettel), which is perfect for conjuring up the American South.

This is a play packed full of characters, and yet every single one is realised perfectly, given suitable depth and impacting the story in such a way that makes every scene feel vital. This is a long play (3 hours) but not a slow one – there is so much plot that the story moves on quickly, racing towards the tragic conclusion in the blink of an eye. This is a difficult watch – The racism on display does not hold back; the ugliness of these characters is laid bare and is particularly abhorrent – but there is humour amidst the bleakness. Stephen Boxer’s Judge Taylor barks out some suitably dry quips from the back of the stage, whilst Malyn’s Dill steals most of the laughter, his naivety and simple-mindedness often leaving him as the butt of the joke. Despite this, Malyn is able to turn Dill into a more three-dimensional character by the end, and his scene with Atticus towards the end of the play is enough to bring a tear to your eye.

Oscar Pearce (Bob Ewell) with the To Kill A Mockingbird cast. Photo by Johan Persson.

The courtroom scenes are convoluted and wordy, yet some of the highlights of this carefully constructed piece. Pearce’s outburst as Ewell brings some added drama, although it is Hargreaves’ speech as Mayella that stuns the audience into silence and will certainly give you something to talk about come the interval. The second half sees the arrival of the moment we’ve been waiting for – Robinson himself takes to the stand, and Shosanya does not disappoint. His back-and-forth with Richard Dempsey’s Horace Gilmer, the lawyer for the prosecution, is mesmerising. These are two actors at the top of their game – the scene is even more effective thanks to the ever-present children, who watch proceedings with horrified expressions as the jury stand to deliver their verdict.

Although based on Harper Lee’s novel from the 60s, the story here remains incredibly relevant today, particularly with the recent rise of racism in Britain, making this an absolutely Vital watch. One of the most effective scenes sees Sarah Finigan’s elderly Mrs Dubose conduct a particularly racist rant whilst being cared for by a black nurse (Oyin Orija) and a black gardener (Tiwai Muza), a harsh reminder that, whilst Reform activists call for the removal of immigrants from British shores, they continue to rely on them to take on the roles of key workers and fail to see the impact they have on our daily lives. It is a stark warning of history repeating itself, and easy to see why director Bartlett Sher has chosen this moment to revive Harper Lee’s work for the stage.

This is a fantastic play that I cannot recommend enough. Everyone should watch this. The story is moving, the characters are real, and the message is crucial. As the play concludes with Scout asking the jury to ‘all rise’, it is almost like she is commanding the audience to give the standing ovation that this cast and crew so obviously deserve.