Though much of Lawrence and Lee’s 1955 drama is decidedly old-fashioned, the dramatic fireworks in the climactic courtroom scenes more than compensate.
Based on the real-life 1920s ‘Scopes Monkey Trial’ in which a Tennessee teacher was prosecuted for breaking the law by teaching from Darwin’s evolutionary text, Trevor Nunn’s production crams the stage with disapproving townsfolk as David Troughton’s blustering, blinkered, bible-bashing prosecutor Brady faces up to agnostic defence lawyer Drummond (a thinly disguised Clarence Darrow).
But it’s Kevin Spacey’s determined Drummond – upholding the right to think for oneself – who steals the show in this pertinent battle between creationism and scientific theory.
Old Vic Theatre, The Cut, SE1 8NB Tube: Waterloo. Until Dec 20. £10-£48.50
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