Grapes of Wrath
03 August 2024
National Theatre
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Set during the Great Depression, Grapes of Wrath is not a cheerful story.
A poor family of tenant farmers in Oklahoma, driven from their land by drought and the economic hardship, set out to travel to California, the green promised land allegedly teeming with jobs. The road is not an easy one, presenting many struggles and tragedies for the family, and as they edge closer to California, it becomes clear that the promises of plentiful jobs and a bright future was a false one. As they meet other tragic characters along their journey, the family slowly falls apart while fighting hunger, exploitation, homelessness, and grief.
It’s a dark tale based on actual fates during the economic crisis, enhanced with a live band strolling through the action at times. The stripped back production makes great use of the large, mostly barren stage, adding an oppressively dark edge to this already devastating story. Mind you, it is not Lloydian levels of stripped back, there are still costumes and props and stage dressing, but everything is muted in greys and browns, shabby, small, broken down, and dark. There is so much darkness surrounding the actors on the large stage, even when they are brightly lit up, giving the impression of a cloud of hopelessness surrounding everything.
Beautifully acted, full of passion and pain, it’s a brilliant production that really takes the desperate and forlorn edge of the story and takes them to the next level. Intense and desperately overwhelming, this staging of Grapes of Wrath is tremendous and not to be missed!
