Check out Ukrainian stage adaptation of Steinbeck’s novel
Ukrainian stage adaptation of John Steinbeck’s genius novel “Of Mice and Men” is one of the most outstanding plays on Ukraine’s theatre scene, and everyone will get yet another chance to see it Nov. 9, at Lesya Ukrayinka Theatre.
The premier of “Of Mice and Men” in summer 2004 was staged by the theatre company “Benyuk I Hostikoyev,” founded by movie and theatre actors Bohdan Benyuk, Anatoliy Hostikoyev and director and producer Myroslav Grynyshyn. Right after the premiere of their first big play, “Gentleman of the High Society,” in 2003, this small theater company was much talked about, and all their new projects were highly anticipated by theater lovers. The other four projects that followed were “Shveyk” (“Svejk” by Jaroslav Hasek), “White Crow,” “Othello” (their latest work) and of course “Of Mice and Men.”
The staging of Steinbeck’s Nobel Prize winning novel was accomplished by director Viktor Malakhov, composer Ivan Nebesniy, producers Myroslav Grynyshyn and Bohdan Benyuk, and featured great actors, which, apart from Benyuk and Hostikoyev themselves, included Yevhen Paperniy, Volodymyr Nechyporenko, Volodymyr Abazopulo, and Natalya Sumska, who played the only female role in the play. Just by looking at Benyuk and Hostikoyev, it’s easy to guess which of them performs which one of the two main parts in the story. The tall and solid Hostikoyev portrays Lennie – the big and strong man with the mind of a child, while short and portly Benyuk plays feeble but smart George. According to the creators of the play, the story of migrant farm workers Lennie and George, who travel through California during the Great Depression in search of a better life, has lots of connections with the social realities of life in modern Ukraine. A lot of Ukrainians become migrant workers in order to properly support their families and go searching for work, either to Kyiv or abroad. This connection is also voiced in the prologue of the play, which involves a dedication: “To my fellow countrymen – sold into slavery, migrant workers, that walk the foreign lands and dream of their own farms, this play is dedicated to you.”
By the way in the play you might notice a new character – a mute African-American stableman, who did not appear in the original story. He was included on request of Anatoliy Hostikoyev who asked the director to create a part for his friend and colleague, who was forced to leave theatre because of a serious illness. He’s now back onstage in “Of Mice and Men.”
Lesya Ukrayinka Russian Drama Theater (5 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho, 235-4266).
Nov. 9, 7 p.m. Tickets Hr 25 to Hr 150.
