OF MICE AND MEN. To 19 November.
Colchester
OF MICE AND MEN
by John Steinbeck
Mercury Theatre To 19 November 2005
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat 17 Nov 2.30pm
Audio-described 16 Nov
Runs 2hr 50min One interval
TICKETS: 01206 573948
boxoffice@mercurytheatre.co.uk
www.mercurytheatre.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 12 November
Fine staging expresses the original novel in full.
I can’t recall as pure an example of theatre recreating the sense of a novel, in all its texture and density, through realism as is provided in Nikolai Foster’s magnificent production of John Steinbeck’s adaptation of his novel about poor 1930s agricultural workers. It’s a long play from a short book, giving events room to resonate. Yet such moments as the long wait among the farmhands for Candy’s old dog to be shot offstage, full as it is of nervous, semi-guilty attempts to make conversation, are absorbed within the overall narrative pace even as they stand out in their own right.
On the baked-earth territory, part-farmed, part wild, of Jeremy Daker’s set, Guy Hoare’s splendid lighting makes this a long night’s journey between days. Light floods the space as itinerant farm-workers George and Lennie arrive. Lennie’s rush to drink life-giving water from a stream at the start is recalled when he does the same at the end, but now with death looming. George will provide the friendly fire to keep the physically strong, mentally weak Lennie from the consequences of his actions, and the onstage shot’s awaited as agonisingly by the audience as the characters earlier awaited the dog’s being put out of misery.
Between, there’s twilight and gloom, bright patches always contrasted by surrounding dark, as the characters themselves lack insight. The death of Curley’s wife, ironically, is brightly lit. And light on the isolated room where the Black worker Crooks is isolated contrasts the semi-lit visitors. Among a strong cast, Charlene Robertson gives the jealous Curley’s wife dignity, making clear her flirty reputation’s a projection of the men’s sexual repression; if she’s always moving among them, there’s no-one else to be with in this masculine environment. Victor Gardener never overplays Lennie’s light-voiced incomprehension and makes his appeals to George especially sympathetic. As George, deeper, firmer and decisive in voice, having to think for two, David Tarkenter gives a sense of utter authenticity in an outstanding performance which makes clear the judgments he has to make all along to protect Lennie, while gradually revealing the depth of his friendship.
George: David Tarkenter
Lennie: Victor Gardener
Candy: Col Farrell
Boss: Robert Calvert
Candy’s Dog: Storm
Curley: Michael Thomson
Curley’s Wife: Charlene Robertson
Slim: Michael Shaeffer
Carlson: Tim Freeman
Whit: Roger Delves-Broughton
Crooks: Lincoln James
Director: Nikolai Foster
Designer: Jeremy Daker
Lighting: Guy Hoare
Sound: Marcus Christensen
Composer: David Shrubsole
Fight director: Kevin McCurdy
Dialect coach: Sally Hague
2005-11-13 13:20:53