Calls to ban John Steinbeck’s classic yet divisive work Of Mice and Men because of concerns about racism and the use of racist slurs have ramped up over the past decade.
English exam board OCR dropped the classic in 2014. Students in Wales will no longer study it after this academic year because it is “psychologically and emotionally" harmful for some black children. That is because Steinbeck’s characters “reflect the discriminatory language and attitudes of this period which we recognise as offensive today.”
But Derby Theatre, Octagon Theatre Bolton, Hull Truck and Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake thought the production’s themes of racism, masculinity, misogyny and segregation deserved to be looked at in a new light.
That’s why director Sarah Brigham decided to cast actors who themselves have lived experience of what the characters in Of Mice and Men go through.
So the role of Lennie, the strong but intellectually challenged central character, is shared by William Young and Luke Richards, who are both learning disabled. Benjamin Wilson, who is blind, plays Candy and Tom Fletcher, who has hearing loss, takes the role of Carlson.
Young has played Lennie twice before, his performance for Birmingham Rep earning him a nomination for best performance in a play at the UK Theatre awards.
On the night I saw Of Mice and Men, Richards played Lennie—and it’s such a powerful performance that he too deserves to be recognised. The role calls for someone who can portray the character’s awkwardness, compassion and vulnerability; Richards succeeds as though the part were written for him. You feel empathy but not sentimentality for him as his troubles become insurmountable.
Of Mice and Men is the story of George and Lennie, two ranch workers who move around California looking for jobs during the Great Depression. They have bought into the American Dream, a philosophy maintaining that every person has the freedom and opportunity to attain a better life. Their target is their own place. George wants to live off the fat of the land while Lennie merely wants to care for rabbits.
Liam King is excellent as George, demonstrating his frustration at Lennie’s insurmountable inability to stay out of trouble yet looking after his best friend with a touching responsibility. Steinbeck’s verbose use of language tends to slow down the action in the first half. There is more energy after the interval, especially in scenes between just two characters.
Wilson shows Candy to be a dependable, steadying influence who buys into George and Lennie’s dream, offering his savings for a share in their land. Jeff Alexander as stable-hand Crooks reveals how upsetting it can be when he is not allowed to join a card game simply because he is black.
Stefan Race is sufficiently sadistic as Curley, the boss’s son whose protectiveness of his wife verges on coercion. Emma Charlton as Curley’s lonely wife is so preoccupied with her looks and desire to become a movie star that she doesn’t realise the effect she has on Lennie.
On the evidence of this production, Of Mice and Men still has so much to say about friendship and isolation as well as discrimination, prejudice and intolerance. It’s worth a look whatever your age or background.