Generations of school children have read To Kill a Mockingbird’s tale of racial injustice in 1930s Alabama as past history, but watching citizens in today’s America being arrested without any due process means it has once again become a warning.
With his background as the creator of the unashamedly liberal The West Wing, it was obvious Oscar winning writer Aaron Sorkin would bring something new to the theatrical version of Harper Lee’s classic novel. Lee tells the story of a small town lawyer Atticus Finch, who agrees to defend a black man Tom Robinson accused of raping a white woman, much to the disgust of many in the fictional segregated town of Maycomb.
The story is told by Finch’s feisty daughter Scout looking back at events that changed her family’s lives forever, and there is a subplot where she joins her older brother Jem and their eccentric friend Dill in a quest to see the mysterious local hermit Boo Radley.
In adapting the novel Sorkin has played with it in a number of different ways, and his first masterstroke is interweaving the tension of a capital trial with home life on the Finch’s porch. He is aided in this by Miriam Buether’s intelligently crafted set that acts as an extra character, and Jennifer Tipton’s stark lighting that gives a real sense of a balmy Alabama as the cast work hard to transport us from court to home and back.
He craftily deploys Scout, Jem and Dill to be roving witnesses at the trail giving their perspective on the wrongs their supposed elders and betters are doing, as Robinson faces the electric chair as he faces an all white jury in a Deep South before the freedom marches.
Sorkin has significantly upped the contributions of some characters which adds to the tension. He has given more lines to the angry and inadequate racist Bob Ewell, played with a fearless intensity by Oscar Pearce, to spout his hatred, and quite brilliantly his hateful bile is taken directly from commentators on right wing website Brietbart. Sorkin is right not to shy away from repeated use of the ‘N word’, which even used in context is still a horrifying gut punch to the stomach every time it is uttered.
There is more than a whiff of white saviour in Lee’s novel as the idealistic Atticus has to believe sometimes naively that civility still exists in Maycomb, and that he can reach people still smarting from losing the Civil War. To counter that Sorkin has given Finch’s black housekeeper Calpurnia a stronger voice, which Andrea Davy uses in a powerful scene admonishing her employer and friend for thinking she should just be grateful for any form of justice.
Any version of this text needs a great Atticus Finch and in Richard Coyle we get just that as he reprises his West End role. In the classic tan three-piece suit, Coyle subtly essays a brave and flawed man trying to see both sides but remains determined to do the right thing. As great as he is in the courtroom scenes delivering an impassioned plea for justice, Coyle skilfully shows how Finch is a loving father, and in the welcome moments of light relief his sparring with the wilful kids is delightful.
Anna Munden is equally good in the other pivotal role of Scout, full of energy and sass as she effortlessly convinces as a spirited young tomboy trying to make sense of a world that seems so wrong to her. It is scarcely believable that Dylan Malyn was making his stage debut as he is sensational and charming in the really tricky role of Scout’s troubled friend Dill, inspired by Lee’s childhood friend Truman Capote. Aaron Shosanya brings a quiet, resigned dignity to Tom Robinson, especially in the claustrophobic courtroom finale where he stands his ground in the face of naked prejudice.
You see from this West End standard production why Sorkin’s masterful adaptation broke records for an American play on Broadway because it speaks to a need in most of us to think we will do the right thing when it comes down to it. But Sorkin and this uniformly impressive cast challenge every one of us to think, could we really be like Atticus, or would we just go with the mob like Ewell and his KKK cronies?
In an age of fake news and hate marches on our streets this version of To Kill a Mockingbird is an unabashed rallying call for muscular liberalism, which we would do well to heed if we want to be an Atticus risking all to stand against the mob in his search for the return of civility.
To Kill a Mockingbird is at Leeds playhouse until Saturday 4th October. To book www.leedsplayhouse.org.uk or 01132137700.
Reviewer: Paul Clarke
Reviewed: 18th September 2025
North West End UK Rating: