Barry Diller and Sonia Friedman have announced that Matthew Modine and Cecilia Noble will lead the new cast of the critically acclaimed production of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird – a new play by Aaron Sorkin, directed by Bartlett Sher, currently running at the Gielgud Theatre in the West End.
Matthew Modine’s iconic portrayals in films such as Alan Parker’s Birdy, Louden Swain in Vision Quest, Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, and Dr. Martin “Papa” Brenner in the global phenomenon Stranger Things have cemented Matthew’s legacy in the entertainment industry.
Cecilia Noble is a highly acclaimed stage and screen actress, nominated for two Olivier Awards and two Evening Standards Awards. Her extensive stage credits include Faith, Hope and Charity, Nine Night, Downstate and The Amen Corner at the National Theatre, and her television credits include Killing Eve, Teacher, Call the Midwife and Black Mirror.
Anna Munden will play the pivotal role of Scout Finch, joined by Sam Mitchell as Jem Finch, and Ellis Howard as Dill Harris. Taking the role of Bob Ewell is Welsh stage and screen actor Jason Hughes.
Matthew Modine and Cecilia Noble are joined by Cheryl Burniston, Colin R Campbell (Mr Roscoe/Dr Reynolds), Jack Crumlin, Alan Drake, Max Ferguson, Phillipa Flynn, Ellis Howard (Dill Harris), Jason Hughes (Bob Ewell), Niamh James, Julie Legrand, Nigel Lister, Sam Mitchell (Jem Finch), and George Telfer.
The new company will begin performances on 21 November, 2022. Remaining in the company are Harry Attwell (Mr. Cunningham/Boo Radley), Helen Belbin (Miss Stephanie/Dill’s Mother), Niall Buggy (Judge Taylor), John Hastings (Bailiff), Rebecca Hayes (Mayella Ewell), Simon Hepworth (Link Deas), Tom Mannion (Sheriff Heck Tate), Anna Munden (Scout Finch), Tiwai Muza, Itoya Osagiede, Jude Owusu (Tom Robinson), Oyin Oyija, David Sturzaker (Horace Gilmer), and Natasha Williams (Mrs Dubose’s Maid). Candida Caldicot (on organ), Ciyo Brown and Jack Benjamin (on guitar) also continue with the production.
The current company, with Richard Coyle as Atticus Finch, will play their final performance on 19 November. The production is currently booking until 4 February, 2023.
The Harper Lee adaptation has been one of the major hits of this year’s West End season, playing to packed houses at the Gielgud Theatre since its opening in March.
Set in Maycomb, Alabama in 1934, To Kill a Mockingbird has provided American literature with some of its most indelible characters: lawyer Atticus Finch, the tragically wronged Tom Robinson, Atticus’ daughter Scout, her brother Jem, their housekeeper and caretaker Calpurnia and the reclusive Arthur “Boo” Radley. For the past six decades and for every generation, this story, its characters and portrait of small-town America have helped to, and continue to, inspire conversation and change.
Harper Lee’s enduring story of racial injustice and childhood innocence has sold more than 45 million copies of the novel worldwide. 2020 marked the 60th anniversary of its publication.
