The best laid plans...

Taiwan's theater companies adapt Western classics to the stage adeptly. Many, however, take an experimental approach - shorthand for taking liberties to justify the stage sensibilities of the production's director - and alter the original work beyond anything recognizable.

That said, Green Ray Theater Troupe (綠光劇團) has done something out of the ordinary with Of Mice and Men. The production sticks as closely as possible to the script without adding the usual experimental flourishes because the company wants to present local audiences with "the best of world literature so that they don't have to go abroad" to see theater classics. It is a formula that has brought Green Ray much success in the past.

The troupe will perform John Steinbeck's story of George and Lennie, two depression-era farm hands who dream of buying their own plot of farmland so they can lead a simple life. Despite their hard work and careful planning, their plan comes to naught after one of the two unwittingly commits murder.

The production, which begins tonight at the Metropolitan Hall, brings together some of Taiwan's top theater professionals: Luo Bei-an (羅北安), whose last theatrical effort was the extremely popular remake of the Pulitzer-prize winning play Proof, teams up with film director Ke Yi-chung (柯一正).