Four theatres have got together to stage a new production of Frank Galati’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Grapes of Wrath.
Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Nottingham Playhouse, Northampton’s Royal and Derngate and West Yorkshire Playhouse are behind the co-production which opens in Southampton on 14 March before touring to each of the co-producing venues.
Running in tandem with the show at each venue is a series of initiatives in support of refugees, asylum seekers and migrant communities, including free tickets and workshops to overcome language barriers.
The Grapes of Wrath is set at the height of the Great Depression. One family begins an epic journey, driven as much by fear as by hope. They go on Route 66 to California, the promised land, in search of work and a new life.
Nuffield Southampton Theatres associate Abbey Wright directs. She said, “The Grapes of Wrath is uncannily relevant to the world we find ourselves in today: increasing mechanisation, displacement of people, economic and environmental crisis.
“Across the world we’ve seen fear and hatred entering political discourse on immigration and identity. At the heart of The Grapes of Wrath is the need for community and love. Steinbeck invites us to ask ourselves ‘who is our family?’ and ‘who are our children?’.”
Brendan Charleson plays Casy. He was George in Victoria Wood’s Talent at the New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme in 2016 and Mr Boo in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, a Birmingham REP and West Yorkshire Playhouse production in 2015.
The cast also includes Charlie Folorunsho (Pa), André Squire (Tom Joad), Julia Swift (Ma), Ben Bland (Connie), Daniel Booroff (Noah), Shiv Jalota (Al), Jim Kitson (Uncle John), Pamela Merrick (Granma / Elizabeth Sandry), Amy Molloy (Rose of Sharon), Harry Napier (as cast), Alexander Newland (Muley, narrator, vocalist) and Heronimo Sehmi (Grampa). There will also be a 50-strong community company made of up residents from each tour venue.
The Grapes of Wrath runs at Nuffield Southampton Theatres from Monday 6 March until Saturday 25 March; Nottingham Playhouse from Tuesday 28 March until Saturday 8 April; Royal and Derngate, Northampton from Tuesday 9 May until Saturday 20 May; and West Yorkshire Playhouse from Wednesday 24 May until Saturday 10 June.