Arts:Blog

Theatre Review: To Kill a Mockingbird (****)

Michael Cox reviews a 'wonderful production' that honours the classic novel.

It’s easy to be reverential towards a book like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Frequently featuring on ‘Best of’ and personal favourite lists, the novel has been a literary staple since it’s initial publication. The fact the film is equally beloved, featuring a leading performance that in itself is considered a cinematic highlight, makes it all the more difficult to attempt something fresh in a theatrical retelling.

So kudos should go to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s production of Christopher Sergel’s adaptation. The story is the coming-of-age tale of Scout Finch, a young Southern American girl growing up in the Depression who finds her views of the world she lives in severely tested.

Much is made about the lynchpin storyline—Scout’s lawyer father, Atticus, defends an innocent black man accused of raping a white woman—but in truth the story is more of an ensemble piece, with Scout’s neighbours taking much of the limelight in the first half.

In fact, it is this spirit of ensemble that is this tour’s most notable achievement. Taking a Brechtian approach, the production uses a chorus of actors in modern dress who don’t disguise their British accents to narrate Scout’s tale, with the company throwing clothes on to become members of the community while narrating by reading from different editions of Mockingbird. It’s a concept that could have been gimmicky but comes across with aplomb.

Of course, the story lies in the hands of the four main characters, and it is here that the production triumphs. There are three sets of children who play leading characters Scout, Jem and Dill, and on the night I saw it the roles were wonderfully played by Jemima Bennett, Harry Bennett and Leo Heller, respectively—each bringing a nice truthfulness to their character.

However, the most memorable character from Lee’s story is Atticus Finch, superbly played here by Daniel Betts. The quiet gentleman who does right even when failure is all but assured, Betts brings a heartbreaking dignity to the role and completely makes it his own—no echoes of Gregory Peck’s performance here. Betts doesn’t command the stage but has such a charismatic pull that one is always compelled to watch him, and he plays each emotional beat brilliantly.

It would be nice to say that the world has moved on from the story’s 1935 setting, but a casual glance through the news is proof enough that Mockingbird’s story of equality and the search for justice is just as relevant as ever. Shame on us for hardly learning the lessons of the past, but bravo to Ms Lee for speaking with such a clear voice. And bravo to this wonderful production for giving Lee’s story and characters such humane theatrical life.

To Kill a Mockingbird continues its tour across the UK.