It is remarkable how many seminal, hugely significant works of 20th century American literature were one-offs; masterpieces which their authors were unable to follow up. I am thinking of Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, On the Road, Slaughterhouse 5 and many more.
This is true, of course, of many other countries/authors, but few other one-off novels have had the same impact and longevity as the American ones mentioned.
John Steinbeck was much more than just a one-hit-wonder but his great works were limited to just a small handful. His Of Mice and Men is ranked, with the above, as one of modern literature’s great books and Steinbeck’s own stage adaptation of the story is currently on tour.
Set conveniently in California, the focus of the American dream, the play depicts the flipside of the dream coin – the hopelessness of the American poor, in this case itinerant farm labourers, where any dream will do. The wonderful thing about dreams is that they never disappoint – reality is a different matter.
Of Mice and Men tells the story of George and Lennie, a pair of roving hired hands – bindle stiffs – as they arrive in a desolate farm during The Depression. George, the keen young go-getter, Lennie the cross he has to bear. But they have a dream, a dream of buying their own patch of dirt and, as Lennie’s mantra repeats, living off the fat of the land. Lennie is a couple of stalks short of a cornfield and his gentle giant status is constantly tested. Part of his dream is to own fluffy rabbits but he is repeatedly cuddling to death other small animals to which he takes a fancy – each man kills the thing he loves.
The story is replete with symbolism and full of almost clichéd characters from the American West – the good, the bad and the ugly. The farm owner’s son has recently married a young floozy who herself has dreams of going to Hollywood and becoming a star of the silver screen. Her pouting presence in such a male orientated milieu is bound to lead to trouble, and it does.
There are some excellent performances here. William Rodell and Kristian Phillips as George and Lennie are convincing and complementary – George torn between his ambition and his loyalty and responsibility to simpleton Lennie, whom Mr Phillips played with empathy and understanding. Special mention must go to veteran Dudley Sutton, who portrayed old-timer Candy, who demonstrates that dreams never die. His performance conveyed the futility of all their lives and that his meagre saving had no value at all. I also really liked Dave Fishley as the crippled “coloured” labourer, Crooks, living a solitary, segregated existence in the barn with a pile of manure beneath the window. He portrayed his bitterness and disappointment with dignity and self-respect and was totally convincing.
Visually the production was beautifully done. The lighting by Simon Bond enhanced the ever-changing mood of the play and Liz Ascroft’s wide-open boundless set really created the feel and emptiness of the piece – except . . . I hate to be picky but the major flaw in this production was also in the set. For some reason, it must have seemed like a good idea at the time, they had decided to plonk a door in the middle of backcloth onto which the vast sky was projected. This door was only used once but totally destroyed the illusion of space and desolation that was integral to the story. I understand there was perhaps some symbolism in this – George and Lennie entering into a defined, confined environment from which there is only one way out, perhaps a microcosm of America, but it just didn’t work and spoiled what was otherwise a near-perfect visual presentation. And, apparently, there was a symbolic jagged line/rift across the stage but I, along with half the audience (those in the stalls), was not aware of this until I read about it in the programme.
Those niggles aside, Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a superlative play and this is an excellent, sensitive production. It says a lot about people and it says a lot about America and its heart is well and truly in the right place. And the dreams? Well, in the end it is only Lennie’s dream that is left unsullied and intact, but there is a high price to be paid. ★★★★☆ Michael Hasted at the Everyman, Cheltenham on 24th February 2016
