To Kill a Mockingbird

It’s difficult to talk about Harper Lee’s novel about racial inequality, prejudice,  human integrity and compassion without sounding trite. But that’s because it really is one of the greatest and most-read books ever written, and, unless you’re dead inside, it’s impossible not to fall in love with this literary masterpiece.

With that in mind, you might be worried that seeing a stage adaptation, if done badly, would diminish this remarkable story. Thankfully, this production by the award-winning Regent’s Park Theatre has been heaped with praise since its London debut in 2013.

Set in Depression-hit 1930s deep south America, Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. The trial and ensuing fallout is told from the viewpoint of 8-year-old Scout Finch, whose beloved father, Atticus, defended Tom in spite of the small town residents’ hostility towards him for doing so.

Time Out’s own review described it as ‘riveting’ and that ‘its real triumph is in capturing the novel's warmth and childish wonder’. Who can argue with that, eh?