\u201cYet, though Sorkin shares Lee\u2019s love of language, he isn\u2019t interested in a literal run-through of the original story.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The lightest of dramatic framings finds these grown-ups looking back on their childhoods, trying to puzzle out what happened one night, many years ago, when Bob Ewell \u2013 a drunk, racist, child-abusing enemy of their father\u2019s \u2013 tried to kill them, only to fall\u2026 on his own knife.<\/p>\n
A trial by memory: Atticus and the courtroom<\/p>\n
Their recollections summon their father Atticus back to the courtroom to defend Tom Robinson (a magnificently human Aaron Shosanya) from a spurious rape accusation. There\u2019s no proof the crime even took place, but Tom is Black, his accuser white, and in 1930s Alabama, that\u2019s quite enough.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no surprise that Sorkin, known for whip-smart dialogue, knows how to write compelling courtroom drama. Sher proves an able accomplice, letting the volatile mix of hope, fear, hate, fact and shameful fiction swell toward an inevitable breaking point with escalating pace. The formative adventures of Scout and her family outside these proceedings are handled with affection but not \u2013 thankfully \u2013 excessive romanticism.<\/p>\n
Atticus remains an admirable human being, swimming against a tide of ignorance to save the life of an innocent man, but he is far from blemish-free. Stepping into Richard Coyle\u2019s shoes for the Edinburgh press night, John J. O\u2019Hagan cut a fine, linen-suited figure. Quietly authentic rather than charismatic, O\u2019Hagan\u2019s lawyer proved easy to like, however much \u2013 or perhaps of just how much \u2013 the playwrite wants us to see his failings. <\/p>\n
Sorkin\u2019s moral recalibration<\/p>\n
For, in Sorkin\u2019s telling, Atticus\u2019s insistence on treating everyone with respect, however hateful, becomes a refusal to rock the boat \u2013 however badly it needs to sink out of sight. Sorkin gives the Finches\u2019 beloved housekeeper Calpurnia (Andrea Davy) sharper teeth, allowing her to upbraid Atticus not only for his politeness to racists but for the muttered \u201cYou\u2019re welcome\u201d he offers when she isn\u2019t suitably impressed by his defence of a Black man.<\/p>\n
These latter events are all Sorkin, of course \u2013 he respects Lee\u2019s creations, but there isn\u2019t a single sacred cow on stage. Does he gild the lily a little by adding virulent antisemitism and explicit white-supremacist rhetoric to Bob Ewell\u2019s vocabulary? Possibly. Can we draw a direct line from these to the febrile sensibilities of Sorkin\u2019s native land? Without doubt. Does the result verge on pantomime villainy? Maybe.<\/p>\n
One thing\u2019s certain: where Lee saw a South shaded in tones of grey, Sorkin sees mostly black and white. The audience is left in no doubt that they\u2019re following a small, noble band of heroes facing off against a faceless mob, drunk on broken dreams of the pre-revolutionary South.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Oscar-Pearce-Bob-Ewell-Richard-Coyle-Atticus-Finch-in-To-Kill-A-Mockingbird.-Photo-by-Johan-Persson..jpeg\")
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\t\tOscar Pearce (Bob Ewell) Richard Coyle (Atticus Finch) in To Kill A Mockingbird. Photo by Johan Persson<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\tAaron Shosanya (Tom Robinson) in To Kill A Mockingbird. Photo by Johan Persson<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\tDylan Malyn (Dill Harris) Anna Munden (Scout Finch) Gabrield Scott (Jem Finch) in To Kill A Mockingbird. Photo by Johan Persson<\/strong><\/p>\n A play of its political moment<\/p>\n Sorkin\u2019s adaptation first hit the US stage in 2018, a year after Trump came to the White House \u2013 and it shows. Yet if there\u2019s a river of cynicism flowing through the show, Sorkin relents with a clutch of beautiful moments aimed directly at the heartstrings. When Atticus peeks behind Dill\u2019s oddly mature brand of compassion, or when Scout calls \u201cAll Rise\u201d \u2013 not for the judge but for her father \u2013 it\u2019s spine-tinglingly well-judged.<\/p>\n A finely judged ensemble<\/p>\n The supporting cast is uniformly excellent, from Stephen Boxer\u2019s irascibly decent Judge Taylor to Evie Hargreaves\u2019s toxically indoctrinated and horribly abused Mayella Ewell. There\u2019s a lived-in feel to even the briefest of appearances, and a strong sense of community, even if we meet relatively few townsfolk.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing\u2019s certain: where Lee saw a South shaded in tones of grey, Sorkin sees mostly black and white.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Design that serves the story<\/p>\n Helping to manifest these fictional spectres of the past, Miriam Buether\u2019s set proves a highly modular affair, parts sliding on and off stage with practised ease, whether courtroom, front porch or jailhouse is required. As with Sher\u2019s focused, unfussy direction, the design eschews soft edges or needless prettiness. Adam Guettel\u2019s gentle, southern-edged score provides the most cinematic element of the production, despite its understatement.<\/p>\n The story\u2019s the thing here \u2013 everything else either serves in its telling, or didn\u2019t make the final cut.<\/p>\n Verdict: Maycomb\u2019s ghosts still speak<\/p>\n Ultimately, Sorkin and Sher\u2019s To Kill a Mockingbird is a first-rate production, and a bold attempt to bring something new to the conversation it began more than half a century ago. <\/p>\n Featured Image: Richard Coyle (Atticus Finch) Aaron Shosanya (Tom Robinson) with the To Kill A Mockingbird cast. Photo by Johan Persson<\/strong><\/p>\n Details<\/p>\n Show:<\/strong> To Kill a Mockingbird<\/p>\n Venue:<\/strong> Festival Theatre, Edinburgh<\/p>\n Dates:<\/strong> 21 \u2013 25 October 2025<\/p>\n Running Time:<\/strong> 2 hours 50 minutes (incl. 20 min interval)<\/p>\n Age Guidance:<\/strong> 12+<\/p>\n Admission:<\/strong> From approx. \u00a318 (subject to booking) <\/p>\n Time:<\/strong> Evenings at 7:30pm; Thu & Sat matinees at 2:30pm<\/p>\n Accessibility:<\/strong> Wheelchair Accessible Venue; Audio described, BSL, captioned & touch-tour available (Sat 25 Oct); show contains brief gunfire audio and racially explicit language<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Aaron-Shosanya-Tom-Robinson-in-To-Kill-A-Mockingbird.-Photo-by-Johan-Persson-2.jpg\")
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