Ambassador’s review Mockingbird

The statement of the play was prejudice. It was of people whom are different. They were different from others and they were judged for this. This is a deep play and the problems which this play is about are also problems which we have in our society of today. This play itself was set in the 1930’s in a small town in Alabama. It was about the crime of a young black skinned man of the name Tom Robinson (Cornelius Macarthy) whom had allegally raped a young white skinned woman named Mayella Ewell (Clare Corbett) and of the court case to state whether this man is guilty or not guilty. I felt it was an effective play and was very interesting. I felt it also brings up of the problems of what we have today. People of today are treated differently for their colour, background, features and past amongst many other things.
I felt that the character of Atticus Finch was a very powerful and strong one. Mr Finch was a strong man. He was the only one who was fighting for this black man who was trying to prove his innocence. He was different from everyone else. He wanted to save this man instead of have him killed. He believed everyone had the same rights no matter what colour or gender. The Actor who portrayed Atticus (Duncan Preston) did a amazing job playing this character.
The two characters who were victimised in this play was Tom Robinson and Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley( Matt Rixon). Tom was victimised for having a different coloured skin and Arthur was victimised for being different. Arthur had many rumours told about him by everyone in the town to where people thought he was some sort of crazy man who should be in a mental asylum. Both of these characters are completely sane and have no problems though are being treated differently which creates sympathy for these characters which this play also is about.
I found that the set design was also effective. I felt it was very effective at the start when it was almost like a box and then the older version of the character of Jean Louise Finch ( Jacqueline Wood ) entered the box as if it was going back into her childhood memories. I found this was very effective. I also found that the screen projection was also very effective. I liked how it showed these memories of Jean Louise and how it did not link in with the movement of the characters completly. As the other character re lived the memory we saw the main key features which Jean Louise herself had remembered.

Overall, I would say that I would definitely recommend seeing this play again and for others who have not seen it, to see it. It is definitely is an amazing piece and contains issues which we have in our society today.

Laura-Jane, Joseph Rowntree School

To Kill a Mockingbird is an immense story about prejudice filled with strong emotion and strong characters, if you have ever read the book you would have been amazed at the detail which has been portrayed in this performance. One of the highlights in this play was the actions which came with the emotions, and also the way that they portrayed their lines, it actually gave the effect that we were in Alabama with them, another highlight is the amount of effort they put in to showing the emotion and keeping it in check, Cornelies Macarthy, who plays the character – Tom Robinson, stated that he would simply sit there during the interval and rehearsals ­­­keeping his character and the emotion fresh in mind.

The fact that this is one of the first showings of this story as a production in a theatre makes this truly special, even though it was one of the first times it was shown and in my opinion I believe they did an immensely great job in showing the storyline, also the effort that the actors have put in to make this the best it could possibly be is very impressive.

The dedication to the technical side of the production was truly amazing, the highlights of which being the lighting design, set design and music Composition, the music was composed by Christopher Madin, the lighting designed by Rich Jones. The amount of different dialects and accents is outstanding, the time devoted to their language and the care placed in order to perfect them was the best I have heard in a long time.

However, I believe that the few downsides of the performance was the volume of some of the speech and the vagueness of some of the scenes, a member of the audience stated that “With the music and the speech at the same time, we couldn’t quite catch what was happening…”. also in a few scenes the lighting may have been a too dark for some audience members and unclear what might have been happening.

Douglas White

I had heard of To Kill a Mockingbird before, but I had never read the book, so I had absolutely no idea what the play was about. As I took my seat in the theatre, I was wondering whether the play actually contained any mockingbirds. Then the lights went down, the curtain went up, and I was completely blown away. The acting was incredible, the Alabama accents unnaturally convincing, and I was on the edge of my seat from start to end. The story deals with the serious issue of racial injustice towards black people in 1930’s America. Set in Maycomb, a fictional town in Alabama, it follows the narrator, a young girl named Scout Finch, her brother Jem and their friend Dill. Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer, and initially Scout and Jem are embarrassed by it. The three children are excited when they hear a tale of ‘Boo’ Radley, a mysterious man who has never been out of his house in 30 years. Jem, Scout and Dill devise plans to lure Boo out of his house, but Atticus dissuades them, advising them to ‘put themselves in other people’s shoes’ and ‘not to kill a mockingbird’. As the story progresses and becomes darker, the meaning of Atticus’s message becomes clearer. He is called upon to defend Tom Robinson, a local black man accused of raping the daughter of the town drunk, Mayella Ewell.

During the courthouse scene I was riveted to the actors on stage, hanging onto every word, following the arguments back and forth like a game of tennis at Wimbledon. The lines were delivered with such precise timing, the expressions so lifelike that I couldn’t help but think of it as a real court case. It becomes obvious that Mayella and her father Bob Ewell are lying, but after an incredibly long discussion, the jury decides to condemn Tom Robinson anyway.  The interval was placed during the court scene, so the audience, unless they knew the story, were left hanging as to the outcome. When the verdict was revealed I couldn’t help but feel dismayed along with the characters on stage, as the perfection of the acting had got to me.

In a thrilling edge-the-seat-climax, Bob Ewell, shamed by the court case and vowing revenge on Atticus, attacks Scout and Jem on their way home from the school Halloween pageant. As Bob tries to kill the children, a stranger comes to their rescue, and in the struggle Jem’s arm is broken and Bob is stabbed by the knife he is wielding. The stranger is revealed as Boo Radley, and when he escorts them home, the meaning of Atticus’s message is understood. Maycomb’s Sheriff tells Atticus that he will say Bob Ewell fell on his own knife, rather than lauding Boo Radley as a hero. While originally taken aback, Atticus understands, as the Sheriff is doing exactly what he told Scout, Jem and Dill to do. The reason Boo hid away was because he was extremely shy, and telling the town of his actions would draw attention to him, something Radley would not like. The expression ‘not to kill a mockingbird’ means not to stop somebody doing something they are perfectly content with, if it does no harm to anybody else. Killing a mockingbird would be stopping it from happily soaring high on the wind, and as Boo Radley is perfectly happy in his house, showing him off to the rest of Maycomb would be, as Atticus says, like killing a mockingbird.

The play sheds light on issues such as the aforementioned racial injustice, but also the way we treat others. It advises us to ‘put ourselves in their shoes’ before we take action, and that hopefully that will make the world a better place for everyone.

Arran, Joesph Rowntree School

 

In this Theatre Royal production we have a classic tale transformed into theatrical art. This play astounds me for its attention to detail within the characters and its portrayal of the story.
We lay our scene in Maycombe, Alabama:  a small town with few inhabitants.  Atticus the Lawyer lives with his two children Jean-Louise and Jem in a place where tension is running high over a black man convicted of raping a white girl.  Atticus is does what he thinks is right and defends the man who he believes is innocent.  The whole town is against him, running on old prejudice against black people.  It is a story of courage and standing up for what is right and it is done in the best way possible, on stage.  The characters are accurate and likeable and you find yourself (as Atticus puts it) in their skin.  You feel their childish fear of the mysterious ‘Boo’ Radley; you feel the tension in the courthouse and the fear of walking home in pitch blackness.  The interaction between the children is just superb – the relationship being not so unfamiliar to so many of us.  They play beautifully on stage and converse wonderfully with Atticus, their maid and others.  Their portrayals are simply spellbinding to watch.  However we must not forget Atticus.  Played by Duncan Preston (probably best known for his role in Emmerdale) he is a man who teats everyone equally and has very strong opinions about right and wrong.  This is seen in his attitude to his children and to people in court. When Tom Robinson, a black farmhand, is accused of the rape of a white girl, Atticus steps up as his defendant.  He does not see this as just an argument of guilt, but of discrimination of black men and women.  This sets the tension and from this many things unfold.   Performed as a memory play through the eyes of an older Scout, this is a joy to watch and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Jeremey, Joseph Rowntree School

To Kill a Mockingbird – Assistant Director’s Blog 3

It’s 1935 and it’s Maycomb, Alabama… Step by step

Week 3: As we move closer towards production week, it is really interesting to watch the actors shape their performances. This is a really personal thing, each to their own, and in their own time. They draw on the reserves of their craft. They build their voices for when we move into the theatre. They finalise the traits of their characters.

Just as the actors prepare, new layers are being added to the production all the time. At the end of last week, fight director Liam Evans-Ford choreographed the main “action” sequence. Stage fights have to be worked out accurately, to make sure that everything is done as safely as possible (although it still looks great!) We have also been doing some multimedia work – trailers, interviews and some other bits and pieces (wait and see).

These activities have brought a new energy and drive to rehearsals. Perhaps it’s the energy which comes from the knowledge that in just over a weeks time, we’ll be opening. We have now had several “runs” (going through the play from beginning to end without stopping). Each time there are fewer and fewer notes to give the actors. There are one or two things that still need to be worked on. As lighting and sound are added, timings will need to be adapted slightly. Aspects of the set may need to be shifted. However, this is what next week will be about. Technical and dress rehearsals are when all the different aspects of a production come together properly for the first time. All the hard work will come to fruition. Lighting and sound add new layers – they give a fictional setting its reality; they mount, intensify or lessen an atmosphere. They split the space into new environments. In many respects, they give a piece of theatre its magic. The set has been constructed. As I write it is probably being transferred into the space.

On Friday 4th, Composer Christopher Madin brought in some of the music for us to listen to. The excitement was intense as we went through the score. It was almost like the heartbeat of the production. We could hear the story unfolding. We were then able to incorporate it into some of the rehearsal in the afternoon.

There was an extra rehearsal on Saturday. Once again we ran the show from beginning to end without stopping (well, there were cups of tea at the interval). Lighting designer Richard G. Jones was in attendance, as well as representatives from The Touring Consortium Theatre Company, and YTR Production Department. As a play develops, there are always little changes along the way, and it was useful for everybody to see the play in its “final” form.

Some of you may be wondering what goes on during a professional production week. Well, to be honest every show varies. However, as a basic rule of thumb, all of the technical elements (costumes, lights, sound, and makeup) are present during rehearsal for the first time. We’ll rehearse the show with all of these elements in place. The actors will get used to working with the set and in their costumes. The production crew will work to solve unexpected problems. The director will see how everything comes together as an artistic whole. Practical problems will probably be discovered. For example, an actor may report that their costume restricts their movement. A hand prop may be too awkward. A set door that performed fine the week before may bang shut too loudly now that there are live microphones on the stage. This is the nature of the beast; essentially it’s there to highlight puzzles which need solving.

So then, with next week likely to be a mixture of painting, lighting, filming and construction, my episode next week will probably be shorter than usual, or at least a little more irregular. Whatever the case, it’ll reach you step by step.

JRW

To Kill a Mockingbird – Assistant Director’s Blog 2

Dis/orderly Conduct

Having gone through the whole play, this week has seen a busy and fertile rehearsal room. There has been a great deal of analytical housework. Ironing out key scenes. Cleaning up sections of blocking (the positions of the actors on stage) and working to push the narrative so that the story reaches you effectively, with both power and heart.

What I am going to do is pick out one scene in particular. The scene I’ve chosen for you is probably the most well known in the play, book and film: The trial scene. In many ways, both obvious and not so obvious, it tells the whole story.

A packed courtroom: the tension building, building and building because of the mass of bodies, the humidity and the raging sun. This is a snapshot of Maycomb. The Negroes are sitting in the coloured balcony, the whites in the pews below. Everyone is looking intently at a wrongly convicted man, his accusers, his defender, and an all-white jury.

There has been much criticism and sifting of evidence to suggest that the Tom Robinson trial is based on the Scottsboro Trial – one of the most infamous cases in American legal history. It also took place in the 1930s. It also involved African American defendants, who were dubiously accused of rape. It seems bizarre, in today’s tolerant society, that such wrongs could have ever taken place. However, when you consider the socio-economic context, it becomes a little easier to believe. People were scared. America was going through the Great Depression. In cities across the USA, there were long breadlines, as people struggled to find work and feed their families. Many people lived in squalor and poverty. It also resulted in ferocious rivalry, as people fought tooth and nail to protect what they perceived as “theirs” by right. People were set in their ways, and anything new frightened them. Anything new was a menace to the established order of things.

In a sleepy little town like Maycomb, a black man visiting a white woman, and then doing chores for no charge would have certainly caused unrest. It is worth asking how each and every character would have reacted to this.

So what goes wrong in the judicial process? Who is connecting with whom? Who has got their story straight? Damian Cruden urges Robin Simpson, Mark White, Clare Corbett and Andy Hockley (Gilmer, Bob Ewell, Mayella and Heck Tate) to take a moment to work out what actually happened. We only hear what they attest to be the truth, but what’s behind the façade? What happened between Mayella and Bob Ewell once Tom Robinson had fled the scene? What did Bob Ewell say to Heck Tate when he ran to fetch him? What did Heck Tate find when he got to the Ewell’s house? There needs a knowledge of the “truth”, in order for their fabrications to be seen as such. In order for their version of events to be implausible, in order for Atticus to pick them apart.

For me, this is a key idea in To Kill a Mockingbird – this notion of codes and laws. There are two rulebooks in Maycomb. One contains the statutory (“written”, if you like) laws that people are supposed to live by. It soon becomes clear however that these laws: written in longhand, in black fountain pen on white paper, might as well be in invisible ink. For there are also unwritten rules, taken from a shadier playbook, written in grey ink. These are the laws which people actually operate under. The two laws often contradict each other. This never changes, even after Atticus’ ground-breaking summation. As we reach the end of the play, Heck Tate is still the Sheriff and rightly or wrongly, he is still prepared to bend the rules.

I would just like to say a big thank you to the Friends of York Theatre Royal. On Wednesday they paid us a visit, and played the part of our jury superbly. Your participation and enthusiasm was greatly appreciated.

JRW

To Kill a Mockingbird – Assistant Director’s Blog 1

“That’s not why my mind’s come back here.”

Memory and Blind Trust in To Kill a Mockingbird

Over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking about how to pitch this blog. How do I suitably formulate something that entertains and informs in near equal measure? This is a view from the rehearsal room. From the inside, looking inside, speaking out. As such, it needs to relate and compliment the existing work of the rehearsal process: the techniques and applied ideas which have shaped this new production of Harper Lee’s classic novel. However, it must leave space for the inclusion of other thoughts, ideas and actions. Admiration and reflection, contrasts and variants: Elements which emerged in rehearsal and helped a character, scene or section find another level; elements which served a purpose, but were discarded in the long run. I hope to give them a bit of airtime, and something like a voice. This is my hope. Of course, over the next four weeks, these episodes might evolve into something entirely different. Wait and see. As things change, decisions get made, or the mood takes me. Hindsight’s a wonderful thing.

“Hello and welcome!” My name is John R. Wilkinson and I am Assistant Director on To Kill a Mockingbird. On Monday 17th February rehearsals began. Contingents from York Theatre Royal and The Touring Consortium Theatre Company met and greeted the acting company and production team: the creative unit that will work together to bring something very special into being. After coffee, catch ups and much remembering of names, en masse we headed off for a reading of the play.

Harper Lee has always maintained that her story of racial prejudice in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama is made-up. However, when reporters visited her home town of Monroeville, Alabama on the 30th anniversary of the book’s publication, they saw remarkable parallels to the novel, in terms of setting and character. The ills chronicled in the novel seem to have been realistically drawn from the author’s life. Like the novel, this new adaptation incorporates a complex first person point of view. Jean Louise, a grown-up Scout, tries to recount and make sense of the events of her childhood. Sometimes with confidence, other times with difficulty. We therefore have two interconnected perspectives: The pure view of a child and the memory of a more knowing adult.

Time passes, and as it does memories fade and distort. Studies have shown that we often build our memories after the fact, and that we are susceptible to suggestions from others that help us fill in the gaps. That is why, for example, a policeman investigating a crime shouldn’t show a picture of a single suspect to a victim and ask if the victim recognizes the assailant. If the victim is then presented with a line-up and picks out the individual in the photograph, there is no way of knowing whether the victim is remembering the assailant or the picture. Or in another instance, a good lawyer can rip apart a false testimony simply by going after the facts. Memory is so malleable that we should be very careful in claiming certainty about any given memory without corroborative evidence.

How sure is Jean Louise of her story? Is she in some instances, remembering correctly? How certain does she feel? Is she mistaken in her mind?

I count myself dually lucky and unlucky that I came to To Kill a Mockingbird later in life. My sister studied it as a set text, but for me it was a post-school encounter. I say “lucky” as it afforded me the luxury of not having to analyse it immediately. I could sit back and read it purely for pleasure. I say “unlucky” because I now wonder if, in order to feel the full force of the injustices, you need to read it as a child. Do we need innocence to see innocence? I actually watched the film first, and not from the beginning. The first scene I saw was the children sneaking out at night to touch the Radley house, when Scout slicks up the hinges of the gate. I was struck by the darkly Gothic nature of it. There was a breed of tension in there which made it almost Hitchcockian. It was something about the children, seeing them in the noir, and their wide eyed belief that the illusory spectre of Boo Radley, warped by hearsay and whisper, was entirely real.

The condition of blind trust is by no means restricted to the children in the novel. Every character at one point or another is plagued by it. The Ewells accuse Tom Robinson in the belief that all Negroes are seen as dishonest and devious. Most of the townsfolk are too set in their prejudices to acknowledge the blatant miscarriage of the trial. Even Atticus, the goodliest and noblest of men, believes too deeply in the innate goodness of mankind. He cannot possibly comprehend that a man would try to harm innocent children.

Hearing the play read in its entirety for the first time evoked similar thoughts and feelings to those I experienced upon first seeing the film. Again there was a bizarre mixture of trepidation and excitement. Once the read-through had finished, Director Damian Cruden outlined the overall idea and feel for the production. Designer Liam Doona previewed the model box and costumes and other bits of visual stimuli. I’m not going to tell you any more about this now. I’m going to leave you on tenterhooks…

So let’s get to the rehearsal room proper, where Dialect Coach Caroline Hetherington got things going with a voice session. Though we find ourselves in a relatively confined area of the American Deep South, there are lots of subtle variances in accent. The accent of the “Poor White” differs from the accent of the “Southern Gentlemen”. The speech of Negroes is different to the speech of whites. There are many subtle differences, just as there are many commonalities. It seems diversity and harmony even influences language and syntax. It goes even deeper, into words of love and hate, right and wrong, truth and untruth.

The rest of this week will be spent working roughly through the text, so that some form of dynamic becomes apparent and binding. Once the basics are down and blocking roughly set, breakdown and synthesis can begin.

Thank you for reading. Until next time…

JRW