To Kill A Mockingbird Review at Wyndham’s Theatre London

You probably know To Kill A Mockingbird from your English Literature GCSE. Maybe you discovered it later: a borrowed copy from a friend or relative or local library. Or were you introduced by way of the 1962 film that earned Gregory Peck an Oscar? At the very least, you’ll have encountered one of its many homages or parodies, like the film Pleasantville or that one Simpsons episode. There are several paths into the legacy. Here’s one more, though it isn’t the view you remember.

Aaron Sorkin‘s stage adaptation premiered on Broadway in 2018, arrived at the West End in 2022 and is now enjoying a revival at Wyndham’s Theatre. If, as we’ve established, you likely know the story in some capacity, you’ll find the Deep South setting and famous, segregated courtroom present and correct. Here’s Tom Robinson, the Black man falsely accused of the rape of a white woman, and Atticus Finch, the white lawyer who defends him. Here are Atticus’s ever-watchful children Scout and Jem, learning what it takes to be just in an unjust society. And yet…

You’ll recognise the essence of these characters, but their dynamics have shifted. Here, Atticus is no longer the undisputed paragon of morality, but a flawed man whose insistence that everyone is good deep down isn’t so much wisdom as it is damaging toothlessness. Whereas the film and book position him as teacher, this production has him learn from the righteous anger of his children and peers. In this way he’s given a satisfying arc and is stripped of that uncomfortable whiff of white saviour.

Sorkin deviated enough from the source book, in fact, that it prompted author Harper Lee’s estate to sue before the play even premiered, accusing him of infidelity to the original. They settled privately and the production – as you’ll have surmised – went ahead.

But the very changes that riled Lee’s estate are the things that make this retelling soar. Calpurnia, the Finch family’s housekeeper, has a larger and more strident role here. A Black woman living in the segregated South, she takes issue with Atticus’s passive stance. Sure, it’s nice to be nice. But what about standing up for what’s right? If this adaptation has one thing to impart, it’s that tolerance of intolerance is a paradox.

In a stellar cast, Andrea Davy is nevertheless a standout as Calpurnia. She wields her comic timing impeccably as she puts Atticus in his place from the other side of the dining table, or paces the porch, denouncing the deeds of the townspeople with brash brilliance.

Evie Hargreaves is top-tier too, as Tom Robinson’s accuser Miss Mayella Ewell. She’s both a petulant child and a trapped adult, and she straddles the line perfectly. Watching her on the witness stand, trying to fold in on herself as if that might mean escape, you feel sorry for her while also wanting to forcibly shake her. 

Praise goes to Anna Munden for her Scout. Adult actors playing children risk cringeworthiness, but Munden nails it. She has a child’s intensity, drawing the audience into her confidence with a glint in her eye and talk of conspiracies. 

Despite its almost-three-hour run time, the play whooshes along with unrelenting momentum, while the interspersed court case scenes zig and zag like the graph of a heart monitor.

That’s underscored by Miriam Buether’s set, seemingly ever in flux, its wooden structures wheeled this way and that. It’s technically impressive, but that vast space sacrifices the intimacy so well captured in the novel and the film. Lacking, too, is a sense of the Alabama heat and the claustrophobia of the courtroom.

Still, this Mockingbird adaptation manages something deeply satisfying: it offers nostalgia for the classic you read or watched way back when, without dampening its newly bolstered backbone. It is character-driven narrative at its finest. Each one of them has a distinct take on morality; the play is what happens when they rub together, cause friction, and ignite.

To Kill a Mockingbird plays at Wyndham’s Theatre until 12 September 2026.
 

Where I Sat

From my Royal Circle E7 seat, I had a brilliant, almost full-stage view, with just a little of the right-hand side obscured by other people’s heads. That’s thanks to the Royal Circle’s decent rake. The fold-down seats with armrests were comfy and fairly roomy. The legroom is pretty average for the West End, but that was sufficient for my short legs.

Have You Seen To Kill A Mockingbird?

Have you experienced Aaron Sorkin’s Tony-winning adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel? Now back in the West End for a limited time. Add your review to SeatPlan and let everyone know what you thought. You’ll even earn points towards theatre vouchers if you add a seat photo!

Reviewed by Laura Foulgerfor SeatPlan, July 2026