Written by George Orwell, adapted by Ian Wooldridge and directed by Iqbal Khan, Animal Farm has just as chilling a relevance (and maybe even more so) today as when it was published in 1945.
Animal Farm is the story of a group of animals who rebel against their farmer, Mr Jones, with dreams of creating a place where the animals can be free and equal. It was written in 1943 during World War II but didn’t get published until two years later, in 1945. It was first performed on stage in 1982.
When we walked into the auditorium last night, the stage looked really atmospheric and set the scene for the evening’s performance.
Old Major, played by Polly Lister, gave the first (and strongest) speech of the night, telling the animals how they were oppressed by humans, and talked of their hopes for freedom. The character takes centre stage, and the other animals are in awe, taking in every word.
The animals all had their little quirks – a shake of a head here, a flapping of the wings there. The lighting by Ciaran Bagnall really set the tone for each of the speeches, especially Old Major’s. The stage set worked well with the story, with the characters entering through ‘barn doors’.
When the animals take over the farm, they set out seven commandments including, probably the most famous one, “all animals are equal.” These were set out across the barn doors. They also glowed in the dark, making the words seem even more powerful.
The hardest working of the characters – Boxer, a horse, played by Sam Black was a really loveable character who wanted to see the best in all the animals, even when he was taken away, never to be seen again.
Mollie, played by Amy Drake, wanted to hang on to her ribbons and craved her sugar cubes she used to get before the rebellion. She doesn’t care for her fellow animals and eventually runs away from the farm.
The pigs take over the farm and become the supervisors, taking advantage of the other animals’ good nature, whilst they themselves don’t work. Napoleon, played by Ida Regan becomes the dictator, with Snowball played by Samater Ahmed and Squealer, played by Killian Macardle working together to promote ‘animalism’.
Squealer takes the role of Napoleon’s spokesperson, with a persuasive voice, the animals are taken in. The commandments are all updated to suit the pigs’ greedy ways, with ‘all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others’ becoming the new narrative.
I personally enjoyed the first half more than the second half- the speech from Old Major really set the tone for me. The first half was more engaging, with the stronger speeches working well alongside the light hearted moments.
★★★
Animal Farm is at Derby Theatre until Saturday March 16. Relaxed Performance Tuesday March 12.
Tickets £16-£28.
Performance duration: 1 hour & 50 minutes (including interval)
Age guidance: 11+
Advisories: Show Warnings:
– Haze effects
– Strobe lighting
– Sudden loud noises
