Of Mice and Men, West Yorkshire Playhouse review: A powerful but inconsistent retelling

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck's cynical and iconic portrait of the American dream, has been adapted for stage and screen so many times that it has become near impossible to create a production which delivers fresh innovation to the classic story. And while this West Yorkshire Playhouse effort adds nothing new to Steinbeck's 1937 novella and suffers from almost inevitable issues of pacing, it remains a success through some stellar cast performances and expert set use.

Steinbeck's tragic tale of two migrant workers to escaping their lives of back-breaking ranch work at the peak of the great depression has become so ingrained in both American and international literary culture since it's publication almost 80 years that retelling the story gives today's scriptwriters a mere two options: stick rigidly to the source material or make a drastic conceptual change in an effort to bring something new to the overstudied book. It's evident from the start that this production opts for the former, and while this seems a shame considering the Playhouse's superb recent version of Orwell's 1984 which succeeded in making dramatic and unorthodox use of modern sound design, lighting and scripting to augment the classic novel, it does at least lay a solid foundation for the cast to work with. Despite a few fluffed lines, Henry Pettigrew is convincing and a little shifty as George, the more intelligent of the duo, but it's Dyfrig Morris's Lenny who really steals the show, brilliantly portraying a character fraught with self-doubt and then-unknown mental disorders failing to cope with the rigours of normal society. His shocking breakdown in the play's final scenes of melodrama confirm him as the star of the performance, despite appearing to struggle with the American accent and dialogue in the opening minutes. There are also strong showings from Andy Clark's charismatic Slim and John Trindle's twisted Curley, although Heather Christian is a little wooden and flat as Curley's Wife, who is in any case more of a symbol than a character anyway.

When adapting such a short story so heavy in dialogue rather than plotting it's difficult to avoid pacing problems, and this production of Of Mice and Men is a case in point. Extended periods of speech lead to repetition of dialogue and themes which, while acting to reinforce Steinbeck's message on the page, fails to captivate a theatre audience. Considering this is a problem present in even the first adaptions of the tale, it's disappointing that so little effort was made to counter it in this version. This creates a rather jarring play which sustains long sections with few actual events before leaping without warning into short, dramatic periods of action. While this at least makes the action more shocking and surprising when it actually arrives, the lack of consistency in the pacing which this creates remains unjustified. On a positive note, like 1984 the play makes effective use of its resources to create a more unique performance. Set design is particularly stunning, as the Quarry Theatre's stage is deepened to reflect the endless expanse of California illustrated so vividly by Steinbeck in the book, and a raised platform at the back of the stage allows for action on two levels. Use of soft background drones also helps to create a sense of atmosphere, as does a range of light intensities through hundreds of light bulbs suspended above the stage, a choice both practical and  aesthetically impressive.

Despite its reluctance to alter Steinbecks's original work and its major pacing issues, great acting and an impressive set at least makes this version of Of Mice and Men entertaining and well worth a trip to the theatre.

7/10

1984 at the West Yorkshire Playhouse review: A classic adaption of a timeless novel

1984, George Orwell's bleak warning of the dangers of totalitarianism, has been told hundreds of times across almost every medium. The timelessness of its message and the genius of its storytelling have appealed to theatre directors and movie producers alike, although their adoptions, while sometimes excellent, have rarely matched the raw power of the dystopian novel  Orwell wrote in 1949. And while this new retelling from the West Yorkshire Playhouse won’t stand the test of time as the novel did, it is up there with the best of the plethora of plays based on 1984.
 
The story of a Winston Smith’s vain plight against the all pervading Party in a then-future England is a tale rooted popular culture, but while previous producers have chosen to stick rigidly to the original work, this adaption enhances the story through scenes of a present-day book group discussing Winston’s diary. This works superbly, adding a layer of depth rarely seen in theatrical adoptions. It also creates a focus on today’s world of governmental spying, and suggests the question of how different our civilization is to the one Orwell described. It’s not the only thing which has been added either; technology makes an appearance in the form of innovative use of huge screens; particularly effective in scenes such as the iconic two minutes of hate.
 
This adaption’s most major improvement over its peers is in its intensity. Violent use of lighting and blitzing background drones incur a thick atmosphere that becomes almost unbearable towards the end of the performance. The use of sound and music is truly superb, the dramatic noises of gunfire and helicopter blades keeping you on the edge of your seat. Graphic images including a traumatic torture scene, as well as an impressive piece of set demolition only add to the sheer intensity, and the lack of an interval is a sublime decision that keeps the pace nauseatingly fast towards the conclusion. And as if that wasn’t enough disturbia for you, let’s not forget the shocking themes of the original source material, brilliantly recreated here. And that's all without mentioning the acting, which is, on the whole, excellent, with Tim Dutton putting in a particularly convincing performance as the backstabbing O'Brian during the notorious room 101 sequence.
 
1984 is a book held in such high regard that it’s all too easy to stick to the story without taking any risks in a production like this. But this play is different; it features innovative use of technology, new scenes and an overbearing sense of atmosphere. It’s a superb piece of theatre; a classic adaption of a classic piece of literature.

9/10