This afternoon I went to the theatre to see “To Kill A Mockingbird,” a play adapted from the classic book by Harper Lee. This play was produced by Sharon Ang and directed by Chris Jacobs.

I’ve studied this book as a literature text during my secondary school days and loved it. The plot, the issues, the characters and the lessons in this story touched my heart, while making my sense of justice rise up. I felt mad, sad, angry and happy – all in one book.

The play itself was very well done. The props were simple, in fact almost non-existent except for 3 ramps across the stage. But I didn’t care, in fact I liked the effect. It allowed me to focus on the characters and their words.

I loved that they kept true to the story, keeping the vital scenes and words in, stringing all of them together smoothly. The actor who played Atticus Finch, Gerald Chew, was perfect for the role and portrayed the personality and mannerism of the lawyer very well. The two ladies who played young and older Jean Louise aka Scout Finch, Lum Kay Li and Yeo Yann Yann, were true to the characters. I loved it that the younger Scout Finch couldn’t shut up or was so naive and innocent at times, which was the impression I got of her when I read the book.

The only complains I have were the play venue and the audience. The play venue had old chairs that were very uncomfortable and didn’t help my bad back one bit. They were also tiny, which meant that I was banging into other people while trying to get comfy. The audience was filled with school-going teenagers, probably sent here by their school. Most didn’t have any theatre-etiquette – talking, and messaging on their handphones during the play – and they couldn’t appreciate the intense moments of fear, excitement, anger, etc. They laughed during those scenes, ruining the atmosphere for me and causing me to not be able to hear the characters talk. I also think that it is rude and an insult to the actors to laugh during these scenes, as though you are saying that their acting was ludicrious. I’m probably not going to a matinee again. Instead, I’ll take the evening ones, where more adults who can behave attend.

Overall, though, I had a great time and I recommend people to go read the book or see the play if it runs near you. For Singaporeans, the play runs till 23 August. You can book tickets here.