Of Mice And Men: The Classic Tale Still Packs A Punch

Last night saw the press night for the much anticipated ‘Of Mice and Men‘ at the Birmingham Rep Theatre. This classic tale of friendship during the Great Depression is directed by Iqbal Khan and it is, quite simply, incredible,with brilliantly intense performances by the whole cast, and themes of poverty, oppression, racism and sexism that are still totally relevant today. This is a superb piece of theatre that is, frankly unmissable.

George and Lennie are long term friends, a friendship that is often tested to the max. Lennie is a big hulk of a man but is mentally impaired in terms of his learning, which often leads to serious problems for the two men. George acts like a protector for Lennie, trying to speak for him to avoid confrontational situations as they try to find work in California during the Great Depression. We learn that Lennie loves animals, particularly puppies and mice, but always ends up killing them, usually in confusion after they have bit him. Lennie has also had an issue when he was accused of rape. He hadn’t raped anyone, was merely touching the velvet dress of a young woman, but his bulk and reluctance to stop had scared the woman, who thought she was being attacked, this had led to them skipping town fearing a lynching. The tragedy is that, in reality, Lennie is a childlike dreamer and  George often tells him of the farm they might have someday,  something that seems like a pipe dream, but which Lenny loves to hear.

The men start work at a local farm, but Lennie immediately makes an enemy of the Boss’s son Curly, there is also the added complication of Curly’s new wife who is seductive, but misunderstood and is jealousy guarded by Curly. George and Lennie make friends on the ranch, including the sensitive Slim, who offers Lennie a puppy from his dog’s litter, and the elderly ranch hand Candy, who offers to go in with them on their plans for a farm. It seems that life will be finally taking a turn for the two men, but once again, tragedy is not far away, and we are led to a devastating finale.

The whole cast of ‘Of Mice and Men’ is superb. George and Lennie are expertly played by Tom McCall and William Young, they combine the anger and frustration, and the innocence that is tinged with an essence of violence perfectly, never better illustrated than when George tells Lennie his ‘bedtime’ stories. Lee Ravitz as Curly is suitably angry and resentful, whilst Maddy Hill as his unnamed wife is lovely, both glamorous and yet so lonely, she portrays her disappointment and despondence perfectly.

Lee Ravitz as Candy, and Reece Pantry as Crooks brilliantly illustrate both the nature of oppression of the Old and people of colour during the depression, and also raise similar questions in our more ‘enlightened’ times. The cast is rounded out by Simon Darwen as Slim, Edward Judge as Carlson, Stuart Quigley and James Clyde as the boss, and it is hard to see how the roles could’ve been anymore perfectly cast. This is the ensemble cast of dreams!

The wonderful sets act almost as an extra cast member, adding atmosphere and realism to the stage – you could truly be on a ranch somewhere in California, whilst the taut direction means that not a single word is wasted.

Theatre should always be this good.

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