Does Rafe Spall get better and better or is it just that I have come to appreciate his work more and more?
That’s a mere bagatelle for readers because the important thing here is the performance everyone gives in Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, writes Michael Holland…
Harper Lee’s classic anti-racism book, seen through the eyes of Scout Finch (Gwyneth Keyworth), the young, innocent white girl, has been given a different twist by Sorkin; we now come to the tale of Tom Robinson(Jude Owusu), maliciously fitted up for rape by a paedophile father and a racist society in 1930s Alabama, through the eyes of all the main players and with all the children and the black characters having more of a voice than the book gave them.
Atticus Finch (Spall) is a good man with high Christian morals, so can see only good in people, much to the annoyance of his children, Scout and Jem (Harry Redding), who see the badness that is all around despite their father’s teachings. Atticus is a lawyer who is adept at defending local farmers with land disputes but his last two criminal cases ended in two hangings, so not best suited to defend Tom Robinson. Alas, Atticus is all this poor man can afford.
The court drama is played out from the start with the sordid backstory of the small Southern town of Maycombe told intermittently in flashback by Scout and Jem, with their friend Dill (David Moorst) – Jem here given the inquiring voice who asks the questions that the audience want to scream out at the meek and mild Atticus. And all the while Calpurnia, the black maid who has been with the Finches forever, is there on the periphery watching and listening until the saccharine niceness of Atticus finally gets to her and she gives him a few home truths about what’s wrong in showing everyone respect.
The young Finches were supposed to offer a glimmer of hope, though 60 years on from the book’s publication there has been little change for the black population. Jude Owusu’s quietly dignified depiction of a man who knew his fate as soon as the police turned up mirrors the America of today.
The ending, after the trial, goes on a little too long, and the scene where the Finch family face up to a lynch mob is far from believable, especially when lynching as a hate crime has only this week been made a crime in the U.S, but neither detract from this wonderful piece of work.
The play is sprinkled with comic, witty lines that lighten the mood, and director Bartlett Sher has pulled excellent performances from everyone in the cast. And, yes, Spall is fantastic in this.
Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 6AR until August 13th. Times: Mon-Sat 7.30pm; Wed & Sat 2.30pm. Admission: £20 – £152.50.
Booking: www.tokillamockingbird.co.uk