To Kill A Mockingbird

Novel: Harper Lee/ Script: Christopher Sergel

Stratford Festival Canada

Avon Theatre

Run: April 30^th to October 27^th 2007

Director: Susan H. Schulman

5 Stars

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey

Quite easily, this years production of To Kill A Mockingbird at the Stratford Festival in Canada appears to be on all accounts the runaway hit of the year. A classic novel of prejudice and difference is brought to the Canadian stage in a compelling and symphonically executed production. Known for her one and only novel, Harper Lee professed to not writing another classic on the grounds that she had something to ‘say’ in To Kill A Mockingbird and when she had something else to ‘say’ she would write again. One has to wonder that when Harper Lee writes she seems to so succinctly say so much, that it might be impossible to write another novel with anything else to say.

On the surface To Kill A Mockingbird is the story of Scout, a young girl growing up in the southern United States during the depression era of the 1930s with her brother Jem, friend Dill and father Atticus Finch. On the surface the story is about an aging father raising a tomboy daughter and as a lawyer of the town, representing a black man who has been charged with raping a white woman. The great appeal of reading, or watching To Kill A Mockingbird is that nothing is ever what it originally appears to be on the surface. To Kill A Mockingbird is a richly layered story of humanity in all its beautiful and grotesque forms; when Harper Lee spoke, she said a lot. Thank goodness the novel was gently and acutely moulded for stage by the craftsmanship of Christopher Sergel.

The stage was set in grey tones and seemed a perfect, decrepit tableau of depression era community dilapidation. At the core, but directly at the back, the bottle tree stood in all its eerie beauty, capturing evil spirits as it stood. In the second half of the production the court room was staged facing the audience and a backdrop of hanging gauze American flags from different eras and encapsulating a tumultuous history of identity. The flags were as poignant as the words postulated by the actors.

Speaking of the actors, the cast was made up of continuously outstanding and detailed performances. Particular kudos goes to the dialect coach for imparting infallible Southern accents among adult and children performers alike. Young Abigail Winter-Culliford was not only a blindingly good fit for the role of Scout, but she seemed so at ease in her performance that she made the audience part of the story. All the child-actors were truly stand-out performances. Peter Donaldson carried the broad shoulders of Atticus Finch within the shadow of Gregory Peck’s ultimate version, admirably well; after all, those are big shoes to fill. A clear phenom of the stage was Dayna Tekatch’s rendition of Mayella Ewell, the alleged rape victim; with acting chops to spare, the audience was literally plastered to their seats during Tekatch’s performance in the trial scene. Tekatch managed to reveal Ewell’s ignorance, arrogance and prejudice inside the depths of a sad and stupid and abused young woman - harrowing. Notable performances were put in by Dion Johnstone as Tom Robinson and Patricia Collins as Miss. Maudie.

Quite possibly the most powerful scene in the production was just before intermission where Atticus Finch guards the jail in order to deter a lynch mob after Tom Robinson. The lynch mob arrive and so does an innocently conversational Scout, showcasing that sometimes a child’s innocence can be a greater attribute then adult logic. I highly recommend that if you see one production only (although I don’t recommend just one!) then To Kill A Mockingbird would be the show to see at this year’s Stratford Festival.

Artistic credits
Director / SUSAN H. SCHULMAN

Designer / CHARLOTTE DEAN
Lighting Designer / KEVIN FRASER
Music / BARBARA YOUNG
Fight Director / JOHN STEAD
Sound Designer / JIM NEIL

The cast
Walter Cunningham Jr. / BRANDON BANKS
Calpurnia / BARBARA BARNES-HOPKINS
Bob Ewell / WAYNE BEST
Mrs. Dubose / JOYCE CAMPION
Miss Maudie / PATRICIA COLLINS
Heck Tate / KEITH DINICOL
Atticus Finch / PETER DONALDSON
Nathan Radley / DARCY EVANS
Judge Taylor / DAVID FRANCIS
Jean Louise / MICHELLE GIROUX
Court Clerk / LAWRENCE HAEGERT
Mrs. Cunningham / KIM HORSMAN
Tom Robinson / DION JOHNSTONE
Reverend Sykes / ROY LEWIS
Boo Radley / LAIRD MACKINTOSH
Jem / THOMAS MURRAY
Mr. Gilmer / STEVE ROSS
Mayella Ewell / DAYNA TEKATCH
Helen Robinson / SOPHIA WALKER
Dill / SPENCER WALKER
Scout / ABIGAIL WINTER-CULLIFORD

Also Appearing:
LISA BERRY, IAN DEAKIN, PAUL ESSIEMBRE, EDOUARD FONTAINE, COLE HEPPELL, STEWART ADAM McKENSY, JENNIFER MOREHOUSE (Understudy), MARCUS NANCE, ERIN NEAL, WENDY ROBIE (Understudy), MADISON SCOTT-LEIGH

Associate Director / DARCY EVANS

Stage Manager / BRIAN SCOTT
Assistant Stage Managers / MARIE FEWER, ANGELA MARSHALL
Apprentice Stage Manager / LISA HUMBER
Production Assistant / MATTHEW MacINNIS
Production Stage Manager / ANNE MURPHY