To Kill a Mockingbird – The Lowry

If the rest of my theatrical year measures up to this stunning start, then I am in for a vintage 2026. My first outing is a superb stage rendering of Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, currently midway through an extensive UK tour following its runaway success on the London stage earlier this decade.

A distinctly diverse audience greeted the production at the cavernous Lyric Theatre in Salford for this packed press night. A mixture of ageing grey hairs (like myself), with distant memories of studying the book for O-level, mingled with excitable GCSE students who have encountered Scout, Atticus and Boo Radley much more recently. All were entranced by the stage adaptation of the novel which, whilst staying faithful to the spirit and morality of the original, managed to find 21st-century nuance and modernity in the characters.

For those readers who skipped English Literature class, To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel set in Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression that engulfed the USA in the 1930s. Told from the perspective of six-year-old Scout Finch (Anna Munden), her older brother Jem (Gabriel Scott) and their friend Dill (Dylan Malyn), it details the trial of Tom Robinson (Aaron Shosanya), a Black man accused of the rape of a young white girl, Mayella Ewell (Evie Hargreaves). Scout’s father, Atticus Finch (John J O’Hagan), is the white lawyer charged with defending Robinson. His stand against the inherent racism of both society and the law chimed with the mood of the growing civil rights struggle and was seen as a liberal rallying cry when it was published in 1960.

Lee’s novel was a hit with both critics and the public alike, and the film adaptation, with Gregory Peck as Atticus, further cemented its place in popular culture and the pantheon of great modern American novels. However, in 2015 Lee published Go Set a Watchman, widely seen as a first draft of Mockingbird, and a more complicated legacy for the characters emerged. Atticus’s position as a “White Saviour” was criticised by literary scholars, and his motivations and character were re-examined through a modern lens.

Utilising this complicated and controversial legacy, Aaron Sorkin adapted the novel into a 2019 play directed by Bartlett Sher, which became a huge hit both in New York and subsequently in London. Sher, credited with bringing classic musical theatre to a modern audience, teamed with Sorkin—principally known for his creation of The West Wing (best television show ever)—who pulls no punches in his re-examination of the events of the novel. His adaptation allows Scout, Jem and Dill to be played by adult actors looking back on the events of the trial during that long, hot summer. In doing so, he turns it into a memory play—reminiscent of Tennessee Williams in both setting and structure—and can then address the criticisms of the characters through the eyes of a grown-up Scout.

This is wonderfully freeing as an adaptation and, for someone who is intimately acquainted with the novel (and loves it), it allows a whole raft of new interpretations to come to the fore. Sorkin heightens Atticus’s reluctance to initially take the case, fearing the effect his defence of a Black man will have on his legal practice. Similarly, his compromise at the conclusion—allowing a verdict of accidental death following the killing of the violent racist Bob Ewell (Oscar Pearce) to go unchallenged—shows him to be less than perfect. Above all, the voices of the Black characters in the play are given much more prominence. Both Tom and Calpurnia (Andrea Davy) have much more agency, are less reliant on Finch to save them, and are seen actively resisting the racist status quo themselves.

This fascinating re-examination of the text extends to the domestic setting too, where Atticus is seen as an idealised father figure in direct contrast to the abusive, alcoholic Ewell. His humanity and willingness to compromise his principles to protect his children make him a more admirable figure than the more one-dimensional hero of Lee’s novel. Only the character of Boo Radley (Harry Attwell) recedes in this adaptation; the “boogeyman” figure of the novel is far less prominent, with his involvement at the conclusion feeling slightly superfluous to the main action. The predominant courtroom drama, combined with the change in Scout’s age, relegates his centrality from this new adult perspective.

The brilliant adaptation is matched by the performances of the supporting cast, joining the leads in making this a real ensemble piece. Shosanya burns slowly as the accused Robinson, eventually revealing his frustration with the system in a heartfelt outburst from the dock that seals his fate. Pearce gives Ewell real venom, and Hargreaves’s Mayella is by turns sympathetic, pathetic and malevolent. Davy acts as a strong moral compass for Atticus, alongside James Mitchell in the role of Link Deas—both supporting characters with a hidden history that informs their attitudes.

The trio of Munden, Scott and Malyn mine the script for humour and playfulness. Onstage throughout, they are a chorus of disapproval for the actions of the adults, with Dylan Malyn taking the flowers for his quizzical simplicity and heartbreaking naivety. O’Hagan covered Atticus Finch this evening and navigated the complexity of the character, showcasing the love and protectiveness of a single father with great skill and precision.

A moving adaptation of a great American novel that manages to give a fresh voice to Lee’s seminal work.

Playing until 17th January, https://thelowry.com/

Reviewer: Paul Wilcox

Reviewed: 14th January 2026

North West End UK Rating: