The Grapes of Wrath

As we poured out of the King’s Theatre after the first night performance of “The Grapes of Wrath” the rain poured down on us in a mini Edinburgh monsoon. Minutes earlier onstage we had watched rain lash the Joad family as the river burst its banks and threatened their last pitiful box car dwelling. The play was following us into life, as indeed the sombre message behind Steinbeck’s story is only too relevant today as global warming brings global flooding and global crop failures. “The Grapes of Wrath” was adapted for the stage 20 years ago by Frank Galati, and the English Touring Theatre have brought this Jonathan Church production on tour from Chichester. It is a vast and ambitious production, with a cast of over 20, a flowing river, and a moving jalopy onstage. The scenes are short and episodic as we follow the trials of the Joad family on their epic trek across America to escape the Dust Bowl and the repossession of their home. They start out with dignity, money and ideals to find work in California – the land of milk and honey. Simon Higlett’s stage design moves from the first brief harvest of plenty – what should have been – through a clever use of projected billboard advertising following the family as they go, promising American dreams in sharp contrast to their increasing poverty and desperation. Sorcha Cusack as Ma Joad is superb, with a warm, utterly believable performance as the calm loving matriarch who overrides all adversity in her stubborn but unsuccessful attempts to keep the family together. Oliver Cotton is the preacher Jim Casey, a man who has lost his religion but found his true beliefs, who gives us the moral heart of the play, an objective view of man’s worth and inner dignity. Christopher Timothy ( Pa Joad ) could have used a little extra time with the dialect coach – his lack of ease with the adopted accent was at times distracting.
The episodes are linked by plaintive songs and music selected by John Tams. There is no play list given in the programme, which is a lack, as the music adds much to the play’s overall poignancy. With a running time of three hours, this powerful piece of theatre resonates in this time of new depression.

King’s Theatre until Saturday 17th October