On a drizzly spring day in Bolton, Derby Theatre Artistic Director Sarah Brigham takes us to the heat of the American West for her production of Steinbeck's tale of migrant farm workers in Depression-era California, last seen at this theatre in David Thacker's production of 2013.
George and Lennie are itinerant workers and unlikely companions, the former ambitious and intelligent and the latter with severe learning disabilities making him childlike in his behaviour but who can physically do the work of several men. Lennie is as gentle as the proverbial lamb and loves to stroke soft things like small animals, but his strength means that they don't always survive his petting. They had to leave their last job in a hurry when Lennie grabbed and stroked a woman's dress, and she cried rape.
They arrive late at their new job run by a man only known as 'The Boss', who seems a reasonable man, but his son, Curley, is always picking fights—and always looking for his wife (she is only ever referred to as 'Curley's wife'), who gets bored and wanders amongst the men for company, but they avoid her as they know that speaking to her would lead to trouble for them. Also in the bunkhouse are Whit, team leader Slim and blind Candy, whose old dog smells and irritates Carlson until he does something about it. Crooks has his own room as he isn't allowed in the bunkhouse on account of being a 'coloured boy' (some of the racially offensive language has been toned down but is still condescending and era-appropriate).
This is played out on Jess Curtis's evocative set with its blue-washed wooden boards for the floor and backdrop that open up in imaginative ways (although the improvised dialogue during scene changes is a bit annoying), lit beautifully by Simeon Miller with some very subtly effective projections from video designer Edalia Day. Ivan Stott's music sets the initial mood with laid-back slide guitar, but does sometimes seem to be telling us what to feel. I've no idea why microphones were thought necessary in a theatre this size—it's disorientating when an actor is speaking ten feet in front of you but his voice is coming from somewhere above your head. I wasn't sure whether Haruka Kuroda's fight sequences were meant to be realistic or stylised, but they fall somewhere in-between and look a bit odd.
Wiliam Young has been playing the role of Lennie for several years in different productions (the part is shared in this production with Luke Richards at different performances) and has just the right build, demeanour and attitude for this dangerous but lovable man. Liam King is a rather highly-strung George, all played with big emotions even when his words suggest he is being more laid-back or jokey. For a laid-back performance, no one could compete with Laurence Pears as Slim, the experienced worker with a kind but pragmatic approach, whereas Stefan Race is appropriately the opposite as Curley: volatile, arrogant and provocative, with that unsavoury detail from Steinbeck that he keeps his hand Vaselined in a glove to keep it soft for his wife.
John Elkington is perfect as The Boss, but also doubled at the reviewed performance as Whit instead of Afton Moran due to illness, but even with script in hand, he gave a perfectly natural performance. The cast is completed by Jeff Alexander as an agitated and constantly pacing Crooks, Tom Fletcher as Carlson and Benjamin Wilson as Candy, with Emma Charlton as Curley's wife, all perfectly effective in their roles.
Overall, this feels like an uneven production that often seems long, slow and ponderous. The story has some heart-rending moments, but I never felt close enough to any of the characters to have to hold back any tears. But there are some good performances and a great look to this telling of a classic tale of the American West.