Harper Lee's classic now a bold and ambitious play

Bringing alive a vintage classic such as Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ to stage is no cakewalk. One may wonder why theatre groups in Bengaluru and across India have shied away from staging this profoundly moving, multi-layered story.

When Bengaluru’s Arena Theatre Productions’ flyer announced the staging of this classic at Chowdiah Memorial Hall on October 28, theatre lovers were elated and gratified. They could experience 1930s America and the raw power of evocative dialogues and scenes as they unfold on stage through the eyes of some memorable characters.

The 1961 Pulitzer-Prize winning novel is a powerful story about racism and prejudice told from the lens of Scout Finch, a young girl through various happenings in the town of Maycomb in Alabama. It revolves around Tom Robinson, a black man who has wrongly been accused of raping a young white woman. Scout’s widowed father, Atticus Finch acts as Robinson’s defence lawyer despite threats from the community. From this trial, Scout and her brother Jem Finch learn a lot about people’s beliefs at the time — the social hierarchy of how black people were seen and treated by the whites.

Tahera’s initiative of directing the play based on Christopher Sergel’s dramatisation was bold and ambitious given the complex storyline and the period that dates back nearly a century. Yet, her deft adaptation on stage captured the story’s power and essence befittingly with an ensemble of diverse characters playing their part. The set (the four homes and the tyre swing hanging from a tree), designed by an architect were grand with period costumes, live
music, etc.

It is not easy to adopt southern Alabama accents and although at times it was hard to grasp the words especially of narrators Scout (Nishitha Sudarshan), Miss Maudie (Sonali Dutta) and Bob Ewell (Devashish Singbal), their efforts at keeping the intonation intact must be lauded. What seemed a trifle annoying was the intermittent live music by the duo on stage that drowned the dialogues at times.

Kenneth Gonsalves, essaying the role of the inspirational Atticus Finch was admirably compassionate and confident, bonding masterfully with Tom-boyish daughter Scout in the first half but lacked a bit in vitality and passion in the second half especially delivering his final arguments to the jury.

However, that didn’t take away the crux of his message that was driven home effectively to the jury — that the defendant is not guilty but someone in the room is and that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.

Interestingly, the director opted to make the audience the jury members with everyone getting a case manifesto as they entered the hall. The lights in the hall were turned on during the final courtroom arguments.

Despite a couple of brief appearances, the old, racist Mrs Dubose (Sakshi Sahu) and the bossy, motherly housekeeper Calpurnia (M S Chakki) were authentic. Prithvi Raj as Tom Robinson was remarkable, portraying a mix of emotions during his trial.

Many wondered why there was a short, second interval. Apparently, it was to put the elaborate opening street scene sets back on stage.

A tip of the hat to Tahera and her team for staging this classic which has not only stood the test of time but has a profound message to all.

Buoyed by the response of the two shows, Tahera, a seasoned thespian, plans to stage some more shows in Bengaluru as well as in Pune and Mumbai. Her next gig? “I will do plays that have relevance, that will give the audience something to take back,” she told Showtime.

Bengaluru’s theatre lovers can expect some meaningful plays from Tahera, who, in two years, has staged four plays.