I had never read or seen anything to do with To Kill a Mockingbird, so I went in completely blind. I knew there were people named Atticus Finch, Scout, and Boo Radley, but nothing else. It was very moving, and I think I'm going to have to read the book.
The most haunting moment, for me, was when Jem and Scout ran to see their father in the town square, but were joined by a mob of angry white men looking to lynch Tom Robinson. Having the mob file through the audience was a particularly effective choice, and incredibly creepy. It implicates the audience in a very clear way, saying "Look around, don't just sit back and relax, think about these things you're seeing."
It's always jarring to be sitting in a darkened theatre and see movement down the aisles out of the corner of your eye, even when it's just an usher seating a late patron. Sometimes, working the aisles or walking through the audience can bring audiences out of a scene, but this time, it raised the stakes even higher. It's a charged moment, even without the mob filtering through the audience and coming up to join Atticus onstage.
I think this is the kind of theatricality Tracy Davis, and perhaps Brecht, would support. It's a good balance between forcing you to think about what is happening, but also maintaining the dramatic arc effectively.
1 comment:
I agree with you that the mob scene was done well. While I often feel, like other posters, that actors coming on stage through the audience is distracting, in this case I felt it very accurately captured the surprise of being greeted by a mob when you are expecting to just see your father.
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