To Kill a Mockingbird… (Tappa laulurästast)

Drama by Harper Lee’s novel

We are all people. Our past has childhood written in it. We all know that it is a sin to kill and tell lies. We are good. We believe that.

Scout, the daughter of a small town attorney one day meets the world that is not as pink and shiny as on the pictures of a children’s book. She discovers that words like love and humanity don’t always mean the same thing. She finds that there are many more colours in the world in addition to black and white. Peel by peel she skins her Bullerby world and sees that even under a golden skin there is still an onion. Atticus, the father of the little girl and attorney of the small town, one day meets the world he was aware of but tried to avoid. He tried so hard that he almost started to believe it to be possible. Still, one day he stands with his daughter in the world where an onion appears from under the golden skin. The third character – Dill – is Truman Capote, who as of yet does not know that he is Truman Capote. He thinks that he is just a small boy who looks at the world with his eyes open. Dill believes that no child would ever choose Manhattan over Bullerby. Dill doesn’t believe that people die of hunger and kill each other only because the rich wish to be even richer. Dill believes that onions are sweet. Calpurnia is for some reason considered a black maid by the whole world. But Calpurnia isn’t that. Or even if she is, it is not important about her. Calpurnia is a person. A woman who loves children, home and justice. Calpurnia knows that onions are tasty if used correctly. The fifth character in this play is also a person. He exists. He somewhat knows that it can be either way with the onion. He hopes that people are good, because they have been told that it is wrong to kill and tell lies. But he is always ready to betray his hopes.

Harper Lee’s bestselling novel has been sold over 30 million copies. It is the only novel of the now 85-year-old American writer. She won Pulitzer prize for the novel in 1960 and it is still in the reprint top list even in the beginning on f the 21st century. The Vanemuine production doesn’t deal with the success of the novel and racism but the part of the novel that concerns humanity.