To Kill A Mockingbird at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff – review

Thanks to Wales Millennium Centre for providing us with review tickets for To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird has arrived at Wales Millennium Centre for a week and it’s powerful, gripping and, sadly, still so disturbingly relevant.

Following sell out runs on Broadway and in the West End, this is the first time the highly acclaimed stage adaptation from Oscar-winning writer Aaron Sorkin has toured the UK, with Richard Coyle (The Player Kings, Macbeth, Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore) reprising the role of lawyer and father Atticus Finch, which he played to great critical acclaim in the 2022 West End production.

Based on Harper Lee’s 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird was inspired by Lee’s own childhood. It’s sold more than 45 million copies worldwide, was adapted into a 1962 Oscar-winning film starring Gregory Peck, and to this day features prominently on GCSE syllabuses.

Set in 1934 Alabama, To Kill A Mockingbird tells of Atticus Finch, a lawyer who defends Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a young white woman, with the court case exposing the deep-seated racism of the local community. Finch encourages kindness and empathy in his children, but is pushed to the limits of these qualities himself when he resolves to uncover the truth in a town that seems determined to hide it

The novel itself is narrated by Atticus’ daughter Scout Finch, but in this stage adaptation, Scout (Anna Munden) is joined in the storytelling by her brother Jem (Gabriel Scott) and their friend Dill Harris (Dylan Malyn). It works well, with humour and childish playfulness bouncing between them, contrasting with the unfolding court case and the gradual loss of their childhood innocence as they learn more about what’s happened. Malyn in particular stands out with his portrayal of Dill, as he grows in confidence and we learn more about his own troubled childhood. The young actor grew up in South Wales and is a former employee of Wales Millennium Centre so to see him shining in his first professional theatre role on ‘home soil’ is very special indeed.

Oscar Pearce as Bob Ewell, the drunken, racist whose daughter Tom is accused of raping, gives the role the menacing violence it needs. It must be hard to play such an evil character, and to utter some of the vile words he says, but he gives a strong and convincing performance. As his daughter Mayella, Evie Hargreaves has an awkward physicality about her, slumping in her chair in the courtroom, parroting her father’s words and defending his abuse. It’s testament to Hargreaves’ skill that you pity her one moment and despise her the next.

My one criticism is that this adaptation does little to elevate the voices of the black characters. It’s still very much a white person’s view of racism, albeit white people challenging racism and exposing a deeply flawed justice system. As Tom Robinson, Aaraon Shosanya’s courtroom scenes are powerful because you know he is being judged for every movement, every word he says and the tone he says it in; I would have liked to have seen more from him. Also Andrea Davy as Calpurnia, the Finch’s housemaid, calls out Atticus towards the end of the play for some of his more subtle racist behaviour, but again, it would have been good to see more from her perspective.

Overall, this is a powerful and thought-provoking production, beautifully directed and with a stellar cast. Originally directed by Tony award-winning Bartlett Sher, at times To Kill A Mockingbird is so tense it feels like the whole auditorium is holding its breath as the story unfolds.

It’s difficult to watch at times – some of the racist language and references to rape, sexual abuse and violence, are hard-hitting and upsetting. But that’s exactly why Lee’s work remains so important 65 years after it was first published – because, as we are seeing in the news on a daily basis, sadly these issues remain so prevalent today.

The age guidance is 12+ although as a parent of an almost 12 year old, I’d say 14 is more appropriate. The production is long at almost 2 hours and 50 minutes and the racist language and references to sexual abuse and violence are explicit at times. I took my 15 year old who although isn’t studying To Kill A Mockingbird has studied other books about racism in America. It’s a really valuable production for teens, not to mention adults, whether they’ve read the book or seen the film or not. I heard a few people on the way out saying they were going to read it, and it’s no surprise the merchandise stall, selling only Harper Lee’s novels and not the usual t-shirts of magnets associated with theatre shows was busy on the way out.

To Kill a Mockingbird is at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff until Saturday 29 November. Tickets are still available, from £20. Running time 2h 50 including interval. Age guidance 12+. Contains racially explicit language, themes and content and references to sexual abuse and violence.

Book online here.

Also coming up at Wales Millennium Centre:

Mary Poppins 3 December-10 January

The Shawshank Redemption 13-17 January

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical 21-24 January

Single White Female 27-31 January
Here & Now The Steps Musical 3-7 February

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical 10-28 February