Fourblokes Theatre Company present this stage version of author John Steinbeck's 1938 masterpiece 'Of Mice and Men' A lively blue grass soundtrack and a cleverly constructed farmyard set evoke a sense of the period, the great depression era of 1930s California.
Early in the play we are introduced to two, down on their luck, drifters treading a weary path across the country in search of work. Brought together by difficulties and misfortunes in the past, both retain a belief that their wistful dreams of the future will be fulfilled.
It is quickly apparent that this is an unlikely friendship. Streetwise, cynical George, played convincingly by Jeff Foster is dour, and short of patience with the simple-minded, gentle giant of a man Lennie. But Foster convinces us that he needs this companionship. The role of Lennie, as portrayed by Adam Guest, lacked subtlety and nuance at times. An over reliance on facial grimacing garnered unintended laughter from an audience who perhaps needed solace from an increasingly bleak tale.
Chancing upon a ranch they ask for jobs. With Lennie giggling nervously in the background George persuades the farm owner to employ them both.
The stage is set for a character driven story. We meet the sad and persecuted Crooks, (Jordan Myrie); a black man isolated in a room in the barn. Small, but feisty, Curly (played by Andy Moore)is the paranoid husband convinced that his wife is flirting, or worse, with the other ranch hands. Chelsea Richter as the wife, oozes sultry seductiveness but her neediness and desperation for a better life is also effectively drawn. Other characters come and go throughout the dram and as their complex stories
evolve, there is an ominous sense of breakdown and tragedy about to unfold.
Recreated many times on TV and film, this interpretation is given vigour by a talented, and in these straitened times, unusually large cast.
Special mention, also, for Benji, the dog. Giving a performance that stole the audience's heart.
This is not, necessarily, an uplifting or comfortable evening out. There remains too many parallels within our own society that are redolent of Steinbeck's time. Food banks, poverty, unemployment and mismanagement of our financial institutions remind us of that fact.
Ultimately, it is thought provoking and, the clue is in the historical setting, a bit depressing.
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