Epic rings true in 2009

HOW prescient of ETT to stage this 1988 adaptation of Steinbeck's classic American tale of bankers running the underclass off their property while an ecological crisis lays waste to the land. Sound familiar?

At this seasonal time of forced bonhomie and a commercialised need to show love for your fellow man, you would be wise to catch this Greek (okay, Oklahoman) tragedy to see the very best – and worst – in man.

You'll certainly be put through the ringer – the full house experienced every devastating mile as the Joads left the dustbowl of Oklahoma for the false promise of a new dawn in California.

Stunningly presented – a 1930s truck traverses the stage, while torrential rain lashes down as the Joads move from their destroyed farmhouse to "immigrant" camp to boxcar via harsh desert and welcoming rivers.

All the time billboards pointing to a bright future mock the Joads while folk songs – with a nod to the people's poet of the time, Woody Guthrie – soundtrack their woes.

The ensemble cast, including a number of local actors, is superb. Sorcha Cusack as Ma Joad, the steadfast, moral glue battling to keep the Joads together is powerfully understated while Damian O'Hare shines as her righteous son, Tom. Oliver Cotton – immensely watchable in everything he does – is a force to be reckoned with as the former preacher, forever thinking about the right thing to do.

This three-hour production is heavy going at times; emotionally draining but with moments of great levity.

Don't let that put you off as this is drama at its most potent and is just as much an allegory for life in 2009 as it was 1935.

The play runs until Saturday.