Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men is a novel/play by John Steinbeck (1902-1968)[1].

Not to be confused with the play Mice and Men by Madeleine Lucette Ryley (1901)

The original text

The novel was published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in California, USA.

Structured in three acts of two chapters each, it is intended to be both a novella and a script for a play. He wanted to write a novel that could be played from its lines, or a play that could be read like a novel.

Performance history in South Africa

1940: Produced by Joan Heymann for the Johannesburg Repertory Players at the Library Theatre starring Sydney Witkin (Lennie), Sidney James (George), Maurice Horwitz (Candy).

1946: Presented by the Theatre Players, produced by Cyril Chosack in the Hofmeyr Hall in October, with Don Howie, Ralph Kahn, José Ressel, Rosemary Barnard.

1975: Presented by the Arts Theatre Club at the Guild Theatre, directed by Roger Corfield.

1975: Staged at the Lake Theatre by Joe Stewardson and John Higgins Productions, directed by Higgins, with Stewardson (George), Ken Gampu (Lennie), Don Leonard (Jan Tandjies), Adrian Egan (Curley), Diane Appleby (Curley's wife), Stuart Parker (Slim), Ian Yule (Carlson), Stephan Bouwer (Piet) and Bill Curry (Moses).

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Mice_and_Men

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck

Theatre programme (1940 production) held by NELM: [Collection: THEATRE PROGRAMMES]: 2012. 242. 1. 100.

Review by Lewis Sowden, The Rand Daily Mail, 6 April 1940.

South African Opinion, 3(9):20, 1946.

Trek, 11(9):24, 1946.

Joe Stewardson and John Higgins Productions programme (undated).

Theatre announcements, The Rand Daily Mail, October 1975.

Arts Theatre Club archive held by George Mountjoy.

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