You can't blame theatres for scheduling productions that will get guaranteed audiences, but you do wonder whether Birmingham Rep would be mounting a stage version of John Steinbeck's classic novel if it weren't a set text for thousands of teenagers. But at least they do it handsomely, and there is much to be said for the fact that the production hasn't been put in the hands of meeker talents. Cast to the hilt, it is directed by no less than the Rep's newly appointed artistic director Jonathan Church. And a very good job he makes of it too.
No, the difficulty here is the adaptation itself, which raises questions about the whole issue of page-to-stage adaptations - why do them unless they are more than just a quick substitute for reading the book? This version (for which nobody is credited, so maybe Steinbeck did it himself) is faithful to the novel, offers us both characters and motivations, and bowls along. You certainly come away knowing the story, but you don't come away with any richer an experience than if you had stayed at home with the novel. There are simply not enough good reasons why these two and a half hours are in theatrical form. Watching it, you suspect that Church knows this too, and is making a big effort to disguise the fact.
Designer Simon Higlet's impressive set recreates in detail the Californian ranch where George and Lennie land up, and Tim Mitchell's beautiful lighting follows the emotional arc of the play, turning from toasty sunsets to blue flinty shadows as disaster overtakes the men and dreams fade. George Costigan turns in a good performance as George, and his relationship with Mathew Kelly's appealing Lennie, a giant of a man with the IQ of a small child, is totally convincing. But you find yourself wanting less narrative and more theme, and wondering whether it is possible to inject the same kind of theatricality into these male-dominated classics as Shared Experience has done with girly literature such as The Mill on the Floss and The Magic Toyshop.
Until November 24. Box office: 0121-236 4455.
