Year 8 Leavers present "To Kill a Mockingbird"

We were expecting a 'work in progress' given the short time for rehearsals but this adapted version of To Kill a Mockingbird by the Year 8 leavers was nothing short of brilliant. From the first scene where we saw Scout, Jem and Dill (Frances, Thomas and Tom) trying to antagonise Boo Radley into coming out of his house, we were all captured in this legendary tale of racial tension in 1930s Alabama.

The whole thing was threaded together by India narrating the character of a 'grown up' Scout Finch in a seemingly effortless southern accent. Seb played the part of Atticus particularly well and the volume of lines he delivered with thought and accurate intonation, rather than just learned and repeated, was commendable. His closing speech in the courtroom left us all hoping that perhaps the jury might find Tom innocent after all. When Atticus told Helen Robinson that her husband Tom had been shot dead trying to escape from prison, there were many of us who swallowed hard and fought back a tear. As we all wondered where the drama scholar had got to, we were not disappointed when Imani entered the courtroom and gave a short but intense performance as Miss Mayella - her awkwardness and confusion over the tangled lies of her sad situation almost breaking her - powerful stuff.

This review would be incomplete without mentioning Bella's character of Cal, the Finch family housekeeper. Her rendition of Amazing Grace was chilling and admirably sang in a believable southern accent.

What an incredibly ambitious, hard-hitting piece of drama from such a young cast, and a gifted producer. This talented Year 8 group put all the stage design, the costumes, lighting and sound together with the guiding presence of Miss Trkulja.

Many of us can remember this group of children in Year 2 taking part in James and the Giant Peach under the watchful eye of Honor Cruickshank, it was incredible to see how far they've come.....time to move on and tonight they looked ready to take on anything.

Review kindly sent in by a parent.

Posted: Wednesday, June 27, 2012