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Lennie And George
- Scottish Premiere.
Part of the 2003 Bank Of Scotland Children's International Theatre Festival.
Adapted by - Gitte Kath from John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice And
Men.
Director & Designer - Gitte Kath.
Costume - Brigitte Hansen.
Lighting Designer - Bjarne Olsen..
Cast - Here.
Company - Teatret Møllen
from Denmark
Seen to review at Tuesday 27 May at Traverse Theatre Edinburgh.
Run Time - Ihr 15 mins no interval. In English.
Suggested Age - 12+ years.
Reviewer - Thelma Good.
Tough tale hurts, it should, and here does.
Two men are on the stage when we come in, a third is sitting at the side
in a sulk. An angry sulk - he's called George, the other two want him
to tell a story, it's George's turn. The other two have told theirs and
they carry bandages from doing so, one on his leg, the other on both his
wrists. Curious you think, but it goes some way to explain George's reluctance
if not his angry attacks on the other two. They come together to play
Auld Lang Syne, the Scottish song best known for celebrating friendship.
George's story starts "There were two men travelling on a bus"
as the other two become the two men. One plunges his head in a oval metal
washing basin, the other says to us, "he'd stick his head in a gutter
if I let him." They're having to walk the last few miles to the farm
they're going to work on. The George in the story is anxious, Lennie the
other man is simple and earnestly trying to please his friend though he's
reluctant to let go the mouse he has stroked to death.
As they talk we learn it isn't George who loses them all the jobs it's
Lennie. Arriving at the new workplace we meet the old guy with his mangy
curr, the germanic style farm owner, the jealous owner's son Curly and
his new and flirtatious wife all played by the original George. And yes
even though he only holds the dress and long haired wig, he turns all
woman for her. The tale is at times told a little fast, the puppy appears
and is just as quickly dead. But the overall approach to Steinbeck's story
really gets to the nub of it, with the actors' open and clear style drawing
the wrapt attention of the leaning forward teenage audence.
It's a tough tale which hurts, because there is no easy solution. What
George ends up doing is ghastly and yet only he can do it. Rightly the
original George comes in at the end to play himself doing for and to his
friend what no one else could do. As he wraps his bandage round the hand
he held the gun in and the others nod in sympathy showing theirs, you
wonder what their stories were that hurt them. Aimed at a 12+ audience
Lennie and George contains a lot, not least the harsh fact the life and
friendship isn't simple though we may be.
© Thelma Good 27 May 2003. - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
More
info and reviews on the annual Bank of Scotland Children's International
Theatre Festival.
Cast - Klaus Andersen, Kurt Bremerstent and
Andres Valentinus Dam.
Theatre Editor, Thelma
Good's e-mail is thelma@edinburghguide.com
Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the
information presented in these pages, no responsibility can be accepted
for any errors or omissions.
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