Theatre
The Grapes of Wrath (Lyttelton) Our Ellen (Battersea Arts Centre)
Pilgrims' regress
Christopher Edwards
Ithough it is in London only for a very brief run at the National Theatre, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's stage adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel is a welcome chance to see one of the best American companies in action. Over from Chicago as part of this year's international season, the company has a high reputation for its ensemble acting. This production shows us that the reputation is well de- served.
The style of the production is as well matched as a stage version could be to Steinbeck's epic novel. The story concen- trates on the migration of the dispossessed Joad family from the dust bowl of Oklaho- ma to California in the 1930s. The fruit groves of the west coast are constantly invoked as part of the imagery of the promised land. But we never even glimpse the oranges and peaches. Instead, barbed wire, dusty ridges and a clapped-out jalopy convey the reality of the journey. The lighting is particularly effective. Dawn, high noon and dusk are all conveyed. None brings consolation to the travellers. We have a sense of an unknown and desolate vastness looming up on the family in the headlamps of the old car. Grandpa dies and is buried by the side of the road. The discovery of water on the way does nothing to diminish the grim prospect of what lies ahead. The great promise of work and high wages proves to be a lie. The bosses out west exploit the 'pilgrims', break the strikes and club and burn out any protes- ters.
Steinbeck was a sentimental if effective reformer. His novel celebrated the spirit of the downtrodden, listed the sins of the oppressive landowners and showed up the harshness of the capitalist system. The book's power derives not from any subtlety of thought but from the insistent identifica- tion of its characters with the barren, implacable landscape. This descriptive strength — page upon page of it — can only be partly caught on the stage. The theatrical touches are effective, and the rhythms of speech always convincing, but there is a lot missing; we tend to be left with the book's one-dimensional message. The hero of the play, young Tom Joad (played with wary anti-heroic understate- ment by Gary Sinise) is slowly but surely politicised. The bosses are just there to be oppressive. Whenever they appear it is as a grinnning, heartless exploiters. The work- ers — symbolised by the decent Joad family — are innocent, hard-working and deserving. After he is beaten by strike- breakers, Tom sees his future as an orga- niser . . . 'Wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there.'
But if the narrative flags over three hours, and if the production misses Stein- beck's redeeming sense of perspective, the individual details of a rough community life are beautifully caught. This is where the ensemble's strength comes into its own, and where Frank Galati's adaptation finds a real, theatrical sense of integrity. Lois Smith as Ma Joad conveys a powerful, if muted sense of maternal heroism as she fights to preserve her family. And even the very smallest of parts is made memorable, for instance Jeff Perry's portrait of the dogged simpleton Noah who decides (wise- ly) that he will stay put by the river. The production closes with a universal image of charity that is more eloquent (and certainly more theatrical) than any of the often repeated invocations of the communal spirit — Sally Murphy as the young mother Rose suckles a starving old man she meets in a storm. The production runs until this Saturday. Still to come later in the autumn in this international season are Moscow Art Theatre's Uncle Vanya and the Japanese Ninagawa Company's production of Suicide for Love.
Our Ellen is an evocative one-woman show based on the life of Ellen Terry. Tina Gray takes the role of the actress, whom we meet in 1906, on the eve of her 50th anniversary on the stage. This celebration is both the occasion of and excuse for a sequence of reminiscences that include key moments from a rich and unconventional personal life. But the best and most engag- ing moments are, not surprisingly, those that revolve around her stage career. What would we have made of her overblown Victorian qualities? Would we have been thrilled by their power and drive, while cringing at the hefty doses of hokum and staginess? Tina Gray certainly makes us ask ourselves this question. But she answers it too with a stirring and adept evocation of Henry Irving. This sort of larger-than-life figure is precisely what the public adore, and what they miss. It is all to Tina Gray's credit as a double Victorian impersonator that her Ellen Terry can conjure up something of Henry Irving's spellbinding stage presence. This enter- taining work is written and directed by Richard Osborne.
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