Today, Andra Simons has flown back from a new life in London, England to direct the nine-man, one-woman play for the Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society.

?This is my first play with basically an all-male cast. It is about men relating to men, and I have particularly enjoyed the rehearsal process,? he says. ?Ultimately, for me the play is about friendship and what friends will do for each other. It is a beautiful comment on friendship and dreams.?

Although written in 1937, Mr. Simons says the theme is still valid today, but he warns that theatregoers will have to be aware that some of the words used back then are offensive today.

?Nonetheless, Steinbeck had a clear purpose,? he says. ?I think he really wanted to look at men in their environment ? the natural world, and the world which they created. He wanted to look at men who fit into the world they create, and those who are outcasts in that world which they created.?

The play is set in California, and the plot revolves around central characters George and his friend Lennie, two drifters with delusions of living off the ?fat of the land,? who arrive at a ranch to work for enough money to buy their own place.

Lennie (played by John Zuill) is a man-child, a little boy in the body of a dangerously powerful man. It is Lennie?s obsession with things soft and cuddly that have made George (played by Dr. Philip Jones) cautious about who the gentle giant, with his brute strength, associates with.

His promise to let Lennie ?tend the rabbits? on their future land keeps Lennie calm amid distractions. But when a ranch boss? promiscuous wife is found dead in the barn with a broken neck, it is obvious that Lennie, albeit accidentally, killed her. George, worried about his own safety, knows exactly where Lennie is hiding and meets him there. Realising they can?t run away any more, George is faced with a moral question: how should he deal with Lennie before the rangers find him and take matters into their own hands?

Of Curly?s wife, the lone female character (played by Ashley Rockwood), Mr. Simons observes: ?There seems to be a social statement about women of the time struggling for a place in men?s society, and the same for Crooks (played by Eugene DeRosa), the only black character in the play. Steinbeck puts really beautiful words in his mouth about being a black man in that community. Then he makes a statement about old people and ageing people, and that is the Candy character (played by Angus Brown). These three are the next-strongest characters to Lennie and George, and their stories are just as important in many ways.?

While the director says he is ?normally drawn? to plays which are essentially women?s stories, he is thoroughly enjoying this new experience. Explaining that it is difficult to cast an all-male play in Bermuda because of the shortage of men who are interested in acting, Mr. Simons says that he was delighted with the turnout for auditions, and also with those whom he ultimately selected.

?I love my cast. Some of them are new, like David Dey; Doug Jones has his first real role; and some of the men who had previously done smaller parts are now doing bigger parts. I have a sense that the actors are trusting me, and it is really going well.

?As a director and actor I want the play to be good, but there is a selfish side of me that encourages people to really get into the rehearsal process, and that almost becomes more important than the actual production. If the actors can get the maximum out of rehearsals and develop their characters well, then the audience is going to have an entertaining show.?

In terms of the play itself, while the director admits that many people find Steinbeck bleak, he is aiming to illuminate the hope that is written into ?Of Mice and Men?.

?There are some beautiful passages. The language is very colloquial, but the relationships are beautiful.?

The set, designed by Kendra Ezekiel, will be minimalist at Mr. Simons? request in order not to detract from the characters as the main focus.

?I have worked with Kendra before, and she has a very good eye for detail,? he says.

@EDITRULE:

?Of Mice and Men? will be performed at Daylesford Theatre from February 16-21. Performances 8.00 p.m. each evening at the Daylesford Theatre, corner of Dundonald and Washington Streets.

Box office opens February 9 to 13 from 5.30 to 7.30 p.m.; Friday, February 20 from 5.30 to 8.00 p.m. and Saturday, February 21 from 7.00 to 8.00 p.m. Please refer to the Bermuda Calendar for more information.