To Kill a Mockingbird comes to Tuggerah

It was a Pulitzer Prizewinning novel, an Academy Award winning film in 1962, and now Harper Lee’s classic tale To Kill a Mockingbird is a riveting stage play – to be presented by Wyong Drama Group at Tuggerah’s Red Tree Theatre in February.

The timeless play is set in Alabama in the midst of the Great Depression and follows the adventures of Scout and her brother Jem, who live with their widowed father, Atticus Finch.

As the children muse about their mysterious neighbour, Boo Radley, the façade of the peaceful town begins to crack when a young black man is accused of a terrible crime.

Driven by an unshakeable moral conviction, local lawyer Atticus defends the man in a trial that sends violent waves through the community.

Director Vivienne McLaren said putting on the show was a “passion project” for her.

“I wanted to do a play which could connect with schools, which is something the group hasn’t tapped into enough lately and I also wanted a text that would challenge the audience,” she said.

“To Kill a Mockingbird absolutely does all that.

“Like so many, I read the book at school and as an avid bookworm have read it since.

McLaren is passionate about justice, fairness and the struggle for social equity, themes she says, that are still relevant today.

“The story, set in 1935, speaks to some racial prejudices I believe shouldn’t be as applicable today not only in American but also in Australian culture.

“I also wanted to give people a bit of a snapshot into global history they might not have experienced.

“I want audiences to really feel and see the people who continue to live through this.”

The play differs from the film in that it is narrated by an adult Scout.

“Scout, as an adult, comes back to the memory of this time in her life when she was just eight,” McLaren said.

“She returns to the memory because she feels there was something else she needed to learn from it.

“Sally Bartley does an extraordinary job of bringing out the sensitivity of the child she still is at heart and the wordly educated woman she has now become.”

The rest of the cast is led by Marc Calwell as Atticus, Sophie Goodwin as Scout, Zara Taylor as Jem and Cameron Eltham as Dill.

“These young actors are hugely talented,” McLaren said.

“The mix of maturity and innocence required of these kids has been a huge challenge.”

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