THEATRE REVIEWS

Of Mice and Men has the potential to be a very difficult play to stage in London. It is after all the tale of two friends seeking to eek out a living together in the depression era in the United Statesâ mid-west. Therefore the setting, the dialogue, the context and social norms, and above all the accents, provide plenty of opportunities for the play to come unstuck and disconnected from the audience. It is therefore a testament to the terrific cast and staging of director Jonathan Church’s production, that the play remains engaging and often riveting throughout.

The lead characters are large, simple Lennie, played by Joe McGann, and small, clever George, played by Andrew Schofield. It transpires that they have been friends for a long time, and at the beginning of the play they are travelling to new jobs at a ranch. Lennie is incredibly simple, and it is hard at first to understand the relationship between the two men, or why George has taken it upon himself to care for Lennie, who must essentially be treated like a child. To the credit of both actors, our understanding of their relationship develops along with their characters, and we realize that the inherent goodness within Lennie drives George to protect him. Unfortunately Lennie is the master of his own fate, and as the play unfolds we can see that he will bring tragedy and misery on them both. The supporting cast are also excellent, particularly Slim, played by Julian Protheroe as an honest and fair man, and Crooks the mistreated black farm hand, played by Oscar James. Sandra Reinton plays the only female character, Curly’s wife, and in her bright red outfits, heavy makeup and whining voice dominates each scene that she is in. A fish out of water, she successfully raises loathing and disgust from the audience, as we see that she can only cause trouble for our two protagonists.

The sets, by designer Simon Higlett, are excellent throughout the play, and they are shown to their full advantage by Tim Mitchell’s lighting. Together they evoke a sense of the great expanse of the mid-west in the outdoor scenes, and the shabby, dirty conditions on the ranch. The drab costumes by Adele Rayner further add to the realism of the depression era and the poor situation of the characters. The final piece of the jigsaw to truly create an atmosphere of the mid-west are of course the accents, which could make or break the atmosphere. Thankfully we are not disappointed and the actors acquit themselves admirably.

The true sense of hopelessness created by the setting, the era and the plight of each character fills us with a sense of foreboding, and the excellent characterizations cement our sense that this play can only end in tragedy. The atmosphere is punctuated by witty lines, particularly notably delivered by George with Lennie as the fall guy. When the inevitable happens, the final tragic scene between Lennie and George is magnificent. The effects shock us, and we finally realize that in the face of fate and human cruelty, hope, friendship and kindness are just not enough. © MW

“Of Mice and Men” is at Old Vic Theatre from the 3rd of February until the 3rd of April, 2004.

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