Skip to content

Mockingbird

When

Event Status

‘Highly-awaited’ wouldn’t do it justice – but justice here is paramount.

To greet the release of Harper Lee’s long lost Go Set a Watchman, we’re presenting a unique, immersive tribute to its legendary companion, To Kill a Mockingbird. First published 45 years ago to immediate acclaim (and a swift Pulitzer gong), To Kill a Mockingbird’s influence runs deep – through the legal and political establishment as well as the literary world.

In one unique evening, we’ll pull apart and rebuild Mockingbird with the help of six writers, thinkers and artists, and playwright Anne-Louise Sarks. They’ll take us through the key moments of the story so well-loved, exposing its incisive relevance through discussions of its major concerns: themes such as race, class and gender, and laws written and unwritten.

Come and delight in the crisp observation and wry humour of a true American classic – and explore a landmark fiction soon to be forever altered.

As Atticus Finch once said, ‘you never really understand a person … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it’. To that end, Nicola Roxon, Lex Lasry, Tony Birch, Virginia Gay, Jennifer Byrne and Bruce Gladwin will traverse multiple moments and characters from the text as they celebrate a legacy – and a completely rare occasion – half a century in the making.

Featuring

Anne-Louise Sarks

Anne-Louise Sarks is the resident director at Belvoir. She works professionally as an actor, director and dramaturg.  In 2011, Anne-Louise held the positions of Associate Artist for Belvoir and Director in Residence at the Malthouse Theatre Company. From 2010–2013 she was Artistic Director of... Read more

Nicola Roxon

Nicola Roxon became Australia’s first female Attorney- General in 2011, a culmination of a stellar political career and impressive legal background. As Health Minister, she negotiated reforms to Australia’s public hospital, primary care and preventative health systems. Roxon retired fr... Read more

Lex Lasry

The Hon. Lex Lasry is one of Australia’s most prominent barristers and jurists, and a longtime advocate of the abolition of the death penalty. He represented Van Nguyen, an Australian who was executed in Singapore in 2005, and has long been a vocal proponent of abolition.  ... Read more

Tony Birch

Tony Birch is the author of four novels, five short fiction collections, and two poetry books. His most recent book is the novel, Women and Children (UQP). ... Read more

Virginia Gay

Virginia Gay graduated WAAPA, then spent four years pretending to be a nurse on All Saints, six months pretending to be cop on Savage River (ABC), and then five years on Winners & Losers, where she pretended to know a lot about high finance. That last one, particularly, was a stretch. She won a ... Read more

Bruce Gladwin

Bruce Gladwin (born 1966) is an Australian artist and performance maker. He has been the Artistic Director of Back to Back Theatre since 1999. The work Gladwin has created with the company is recognised for innovation and excellence, touring regularly to major international arts festivals and instit... Read more

Jennifer Byrne

Jennifer Byrne is a senior journalist and broadcaster who has worked in all arms of the media: print, radio and television. Having done her cadetship at the Age and worked on UK’s Fleet Street, she was a founding reporter with Channel Nine’s Sunday programme and spent some 12 years traveling the... Read more

Location

Athenaeum Theatre

188 Collins Street Melbourne Victoria 3000

More details

Stay up to date with our upcoming events and special announcements by subscribing to The Wheeler Centre's mailing list.

Privacy Policy

The Wheeler Centre acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Centre stands. We acknowledge and pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their Elders, past and present, as the custodians of the world’s oldest continuous living culture.