Rafe Spall, right, as Atticus Finch, with (L-R) Gwyneth Keyworth as Scout Finch, Harry Redding as Jem Finch and David Moorst as Dill Harris
[Marc Brenner]
MATTHEW HAWKINS relishes the valiant defiance of two gay Scottish painters whose example resists both collectors’ taste and historical fiction
Essays on contemporary Latin American feminism, a poetry debut by a queer Texan of Mexican heritage, and a lush volume of tango and milonga drawings
JOHN McINALLY welcomes a rigorous class analysis of the history and exploitation of sectarianism by the Scottish ruling elite
The bard pays homage to his two muses: his wife and his football club
To Kill A Mockingbird
Gielgud Theatre
APPARENTLY when asked if he would write the script for the stage adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, Hollywood playwright Aaron Sorkin thought “it would be a death wish.” It’s easy to see why. Harper Lee’s 1960 Pulitzer prize-winning novel tackling racism and injustice is such an enormously popular story — almost sacred in fact — it’s a daunting task for anyone, even an Oscar-winning screenwriter such as Sorkin.
But Sorkin needn’t have worried, he and director Bartlett Sher have managed to create a startling adaptation that not only pays homage to the original text — as well as the equally successful 1962 film — but challenges and criticises the novel’s flaws. Atticus Finch’s white saviour is reproached, muted black characters have voices.
First staged on Broadway during Trump’s time at the White House, followed by the very public murder of George Floyd, it still feels incredibly timely — a shameful indictment on us today.
BLANE SAVAGE recommends the display of nine previously unseen works by the Glaswegian artist, novelist and playwright
