Five star review of To Kill a Mockingbird at Leeds Playhouse

Aaron Sorkin’s stage version of Harper Lee’s classic, much-loved Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is a masterclass in the art of adaptation. His script is completely faithful to and respectful of the book, yet it is very much his own interpretation and showcases his exceptional skill at storytelling.

Anyone who is familiar with the work of the multi-award-winning playwright and screenwriter – Sorkin is the author of hit play (and later movie) A Few Good Men, TV favourites The West Wing and The Newsroom, and acclaimed films such The Social Network, Steve Jobs and Charlie Wilson’s War – will know that his dialogue is witty, pacy and authentic. Here that is abundantly in evidence.

Set in the 1930s in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, the play opens in the courtroom. The three children at the centre of the narrative – Scout (Anna Munden), her brother Jem (Gabriel Scott) and their friend Dill (Dylan Malyn) who is staying next-door with his aunt over the summer – act as narrators recounting the story of how Jem and Sout’s lawyer father Atticus Finch (Richard Coyle) defended Tom Robinson, a Black man accused of raping 19-year-old Mayella Ewell (Evie Hargreaves). Her father Bob Ewell (Oscar Pearce) has brought the charge against Robinson and it is clear from the outset that this is a malicious accusation and that the defendant is an innocent man. However, given the unfettered prejudice prevalent in the town, the fact that the jury is made up entirely of white townsfolk and despite Atticus Finch’s best efforts, the likelihood of Robinson getting a fair trial is vanishingly small.

Sorkin maintains the novel’s core messages about truth, justice, loss of innocence and the importance of empathy – Scout learns some hard lessons that summer, but perhaps the most significant is about how to “step into another person’s skin.” Crucially, Sorkin’s script gives both Robinson (Aaron Shosanya) and the Finches’ longtime maid Calpurnia (Andrea Davy) a lot more to say than they had in the book including a very powerful scene in which Calpurnia quietly admonishes Atticus for expecting her to be grateful to him for doing what is self-evidently the right thing.

Everything about this production is outstanding – from the uniformly excellent performances by the large ensemble cast, to the brilliantly designed set, slick staging and transitions from the courtroom to the front porch and interior of the Finches’ home and back again, to the superb dialogue and the way in which the play’s themes of racism, social injustice and lies peddled as truth speak so eloquently to the turbulent times we are living through. The standing ovation at the end of the performance was entirely deserved. This really is one not to miss.

To October 4, then touring, including to The Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, January 27-February 7, 2026.