Of Mice and Men

@ King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 30 Apr 2016

“A tricky little thing designed to teach me to write for the theatre”

John Steinbeck’s controversial 1937 novella was written with theatre in mind. As director Roxanna Silbert says: you don’t know a play until you’ve heard it. Much of his story is to be heard, and not read, which is why it’s so perfect on stage. But with this classic tale being so well known, is it harder to sympathise with the characters, when we know what’s coming? His work is really brought to life by a performance, but with the missing shock factor – it’s not as hard hitting.

Of Mice and Men first opened at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway in 1937 and received a mixed reaction. In the  modern day, this playable novel’s themes continue to strike a chord. The Touring Consortium Theatre Company have done it justice, although it will never be as poignant as the first time round.

George and Lennie have an unlikely friendship – one short and smart, the other a childlike giant. Moving from here to there, they hope for a better life, and an end to their suffering during the Great Depression. In this lonely, isolated world they are lucky to have something special: they have each other and they share the American Dream to live off “the fat of the land”.

Nick Powell’s sound design alongside Liz Ascroft’s set really transport the audience back to the era in which Of Mice and Men was set. The underscore and live singing captures what life was like for these characters. However, the actor-musicians are unfortunately hidden behind the set, and not as included in the performance as they could be. They could have been incorporated into those big choreographed scene changes, the first of which is reminiscent of a barn dance.

The initial set has a backdrop of a big open landscape and a sunset which brings you into the space, and a faultline in the floor which represents both the literal edge of a river and also acts as a metaphor. The vastness of the outdoors is contrasted with the claustrophobic, wooden box-filled room in which they live.

There’s a standout performance from Kristian Phillips as the endearing, vulnerable Lennie. He captures the innocence of the character and gets many laughs from the audience. Another character who gets a similar fuss is Tina the dog, alongside loveable owner Candy. William Rodell is also notable for his performance as the other lead character, George.

Crooks (Dave Fishley), on the other hand, isn’t given enough stage time. The book really makes you feel sorry for this character, and even with the overuse of the word “nigger”, we don’t get a true insight of how he is treated by the others. He is given the hardest jobs, made to have his own room, he is excluded – but in the book, his situation is much, much worse than that and this isn’t captured enough.

All the ingredients are there, but it needs a little more – more emotion, more chemistry between the two friends, more choreography. A simple tale, that requires tweaking if it’s to be re-told again and again.