To Kill A Mockingbird Tickets

By: Harper Lee, adapted for the stage by Aaron Sorkin
Music: Adam Guettel
Director: Bartlett Sher
Cast list: Matthew Modine, Cecilia Noble, Anna Munden, Sam Mitchell, Ellis Howard, Jason Hughes, Harry Attwell, Helen Belbin, Niall Buggy, Cheryl Burniston, Colin R Campbell, Jack Crumlin, Alan Drake, Max Ferguson, Phillipa Flynn, John Hastings, Rebecca Hayes, Simon Hepworth, Niamh James, Julie Legrand, Nigel Lister, Tom Mannion, Tiwai Muza, Itoya Osagiede, Jude Owusu, Oyin Oyjia, David Sturzaker, George Telfer, Natasha Williams, Jack Benjamin, Ciyo Brown, Candida Caldicot
Design: Miriam Buether
Lighting: Jennifer Tipton
Costume: Ann Roth
Sound: Scott Lehrer

Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book is one of the great American novels. Since its publication in 1960, schools across the world continue to incorporate the story into the national curriculum.

The tale is inspired by her own childhood in 1930s rural Alabama; like Atticus, Lee’s father was an attorney who defended two black men. Now, the iconic story plays out in the hit To Kill a Mockingbird London production. Join Scout and Jem as they watch their father Atticus Finch defend an innocent African-American man, Tom Robinson, who has been falsely accused of rape.

The show made its West End debut at the Gielgud Theatre in 2022 with Rafe Spall as Atticus Finch, with Richard Coyle and Matthew Modine taking over the role. Bartlett Sher directs To Kill a Mockingbird in London.

What to Watch For:

• Harper Lee’s novel is renowned for telling its rich fable from the perspective of a child; it’s a coming-of-age tale as well as a snapshot of America. See how Sorkin translates that to the stage, using the three young characters – Scout, Jem, and Dill – to comment on and guide the action.
• It’s also fascinating to map some of the real-life people and places onto Lee’s story – whether it’s her relationship with her own father, or the childhood friend who inspired Dill: none other than Truman Capote, writer of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood.
• Sorkin is renowned for his thrilling courtroom dramas, such as A Few Good Men (which starred Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in the movie) and The Trial of the Chicago 7. His version of To Kill a Mockingbird uses the courtroom tension as the basis for the whole play.
• One of the past criticisms of the work is that the non-white characters don’t get to have much of a say. Sorkin addresses that in this new adaptation – if you know the book, you’ll spot significant changes and additions here for Tom and Calpurnia.
• However, Sorkin’s alterations led to an actual court battle between this new production and the Harper Lee estate, with particularly fraught wrangling over the characterisation of Atticus – who is arguably more flawed here.