Of Mice and Men

‘Of Mice and Men’- adapted from a novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, tells the story of George Milton (Andy Hill) and his simple minded friend Lennie Small (Dave Smith), two migrant ranch workers in search of the American dream, who move from place to place in search of work during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. George looks out for Lennie who has a soft heart but is unaware of his own strength and is always unintentionally getting into trouble. They find work on a ranch close to the Salinas River in California and hope they will be able to stay long enough to get a stake together so they can buy a little place of their own and make a fresh start. However when they arrive at the ranch and start work a series of events and tensions happen that threatens their friendship and their dream slowly unravels.
This was a brave and challenging production directed by Peter Dowd and the challenges in this play are many. There are a number of messages in this story therefore it is essential  the actors hold the interest of the audience, meaning it is an absolute requirement that their characterisations are accurate and are maintained throughout the production also the libretto should be easily followed. Andy Hill and Dave Small as the two central characters George and Lennie played their parts extremely well, and their relationship was very believable. It was very moving witnessing the strain on their changing relationship as the dream fell apart. They were supported by a talented accomplished cast playing different characters involved in the running of the ranch each one having varying back stories and all of them effecting one way or another George and Lennie’s relationship. The nature of this play requires total team-work, which the cast achieved, and each character appeared absolutely focused on the play, resulting in a successful production. There was some artistic licence taken in the casting of two of the roles which meant some messages lost some of their impact, although the acting and characterisations of these roles were very well done.  The Dialogue was taken at an easy pace and diction was clear and could be heard although there was an occasional slip in the American accent by one or two of the actors but these facts did not detract from the overall power of the play.
 The set was minimalistic but very effective and well thought out fitting the intimate setting of ‘Disraeli’s’  and the costumes suited the roles and characters very well.
Congratulations to all involved in this production for meeting all the challenges of this play and making this production a success.
Thank you for a very interesting and thought provoking evening, hope to see you for your next production
 

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