It is, of course, one of the great novels from America’s decade of depression and dustbowls. Generations of schoolchildren studied it in English class. Many cite the book as sacred, up there with To Kill A Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye. And the author himself, John Steinbeck turned the prose into script for this stage play. So how does the current interpretation shape up?
Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s production centres on a couple of drifters, itinerant farmhands, moving from ranch to ranch in search of work. They are part of the human cost of the thirties banking apocalypse. Their arrival at a struggling farm in the Mid West sets in motion a drama that will end in destruction.
Lennie is different. Perhaps today we might say he has a learning disability or autism. This leaves him unable to survive without help. But he is physically strong. Real strong. George is Lennie’s long suffering buddy. His carer. His saviour. George looks after Lennie. Whatever it takes.
The plot is well known but no spoilers here. There is conflict with the other ranchers. A lonely wife. A black labourer excluded by the whites. Most of all, there is Lennie’s inability to fit in. This leads to trouble. And then more trouble. You probably know the famous ending.
William Rodell does a fantastic job as George, a working man, frequently frustrated by Lennie’s shortcomings. But again and again George tries to do the right thing. He strives to be understanding with Lennie’s disability. In the end, out of love for his friend, he commits a terrible act. Rodell handles this role with excellence, keeping the narrative driving full steam ahead. He also has a convincing American accent.
Kristian Phillips as Lennie has a different challenge. Playing this towering man with the intellect of a five year old, but without mawkishness, parody or stereotype. Just another human being who happens to have a handicap. Not as easy task to pull off. But Phillips does it and does it well.
Among the able cast is none other than Dudley Sutton. He must be one of Britain’s longest serving character actors. Usually a comedy actor or a villain, he’s worked with everyone from Ken Russell to Bette Davis. This reviewer recalls him best from the Nottingham movie, the Disappearance of Harry. In Of Mice and Men Sutton plays Candy, an aging farmhand who hopes to throw his fortunes in with George.
Of Mice and Men is a play about loneliness. It’s also a love story. A platonic love between two men, who for all their difference, need each other. A love that ends in tragedy. There’ll be a tear in your eye when the final curtain falls.
Of Mice and Men plays at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal from Tuesday March 1 to Saturday March 5 2016.
Review by Ian Douglas
www.iandouglas-writer.com
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