After playing to huge acclaim in 2014, Roxana Silbert's Of Mice And Men is back at the Birmingham REP this month by popular demand. This second run will see a new cast take on the adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic novel, with Kristian Phillips and William Rodell replacing Ben Dilloway and Michael Legge in the lead roles of Lennie and George.

Taking up the mantle of the farm's oldest worker, Candy, is stage and screen veteran Dudley Sutton. With a fascinatingly diverse array of credits to his name, ranging from The Leather Boys to Porridge, from Lovejoy to Skins and from The Football Factory to The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Sutton will undoubtedly be a familiar face to most audience members. 

What's On spoke to the actor about his part in the play and other recent performances.

“This is a really great play with a strong storyline,” says Dudley. “The character goes through a whole range of emotions - loneliness, kindness, yearning and desperation. It's good stuff for an actor to get his teeth into.”

Almost 80 years after its initial publication, Of Mice And Men has become one of the world's most famous novels, often studied in schools and frequently appearing on lists of both well-loved and important, landmark literature. Rather than adjusting things to fit contemporary concerns, then, Sutton hopes that the production will let the story speak for itself, getting to the heart of a great work that continues to grip readers to this day.

“I think that any relevance will be in the story anyway. All you can do is make it as clear as possible and be as true as you can to the script.”

A poet and storyteller as well as an actor, Sutton has always been fascinated by language, particularly the language of ordinary people. His own writing often makes use of English vernacular - quite distinct from the American dialect of Steinbeck's characters, which he’s thoroughly enjoyed getting to grips with.

“It's very different from the usual movie dialogue. Up in central and northern California it's very dry and arid, and these itinerant farm workers had their own way of speaking.”

Music is also a prominent feature of this production, with members of the cast forming a live band and integrating songs into the performance. As a musician and songwriter, Sutton seems a natural fit to join them, but sadly, it wasn't to be.

“I wish I was,” he laments. “The silly thing is, I play guitar and harmonica, and I know all the songs from the period. But unfortunately I came in too late.”

Among Of Mice And Men's most memorable moments is the ‘mercy killing’ of Candy's ageing dog. Although the story also incurs some human casualties, for many, the impact this loss has on Candy, along with its intimations of his own mortality, make it as moving as anything that happens. Asked how his character's loyal companion is presented on stage, Sutton chooses to keep things tightly under wraps. “You'll just have to come and see it!” he laughs.

As a character, Candy certainly gives an actor plenty to work with, but elsewhere, weighty roles for older stars aren't always easy to come by. Sutton has previously spoken of his resistance to what he calls “cardigan acting”, smaller parts that make few demands of performers beyond playing sick or frail in stories more concerned with younger characters. 

“You think that there'll be more roles for you as you get older and you've accrued all this knowledge and experience, but of course there aren't. As you get older, you become a kind of minority.”

With an ageing population, and many people past retirement living fuller and more varied lives than ever, this is something that must surely change to better reflect the world around us.

“Things are changing a little bit, but not as much as I'd like. Just having two famous old actors in a six-week series won't change the world. Of course, people keep dying off, so if you don't hang onto them while you can, soon they'll be gone.”

One way of breaking through this barrier is by making your own work - something Sutton has done plenty of already, and hopes to continue with in future. His first one-man show, Killing Kittens, caused something of a stir with its subject matter, inspired by the caption of an online image, a joke warning about the perils of masturbation. Since then, he's gone on to create two more touring shows, combining his various talents in interesting ways.

“People might get a wrong impression from the idea of a one-man show. It's not acting or pretending to be someone else. It's a mixture of songs, comic verse, storytelling, biography and some more serious stuff. I do a lot of festivals, and it's mainly about interacting with an audience.”

Independent production companies might also offer some solutions. Recently, Sutton played a key part in a feature film about corruption in the 19th-century tin industry, created by Cornwall's Miracle Theatre Company.

“It's a funny thing - I've been in this business for 60 years now and the BBC has never once put me in a historical drama. Then I go down to Cornwall, and there I find myself playing a corrupt Victorian banker. Tin is magic! It's a lovely film, and very different. There's a kind of innocence about it, and it was all made locally with Cornish people. I loved it.”

From the West Country to the West Midlands, Sutton is looking forward to being back in Birmingham. Despite recently appearing in three episodes of Doctors, his busy filming schedule didn't leave much time for sight-seeing.

“Birmingham's changed so much over the years - it keeps changing all the time. I like being here, partly because of how people say ‘Dudley’. A long time ago, I did a series here called Up The Workers - which nobody remembers now, thank God! I keep forgetting that Doctors is made here because you go into a hotel and then straight out to the location, so you don't really connect it with the city. I like Doctors, though. It's a very good series - well written and directed and produced. For an afternoon show it's remarkable!” 

Of Mice And Men is taking place at Wolverhampton Grand on 8 - 12 March.