I figured that as a piece of theatre this wasn't necessarily a gig, so it belonged under "Other Reviews".
It was brilliant! **** (those are meant to be stars, by the way!)
If anyone here is unfamiliar with the classic story by George Orwell, it is about a fictional farm where the animals, after suffering at the hands of the cruel and neglectful farmer, finally revolt and take over the farm. The original idea is that all of the animals will live in freedom and equality, however it isn't long until the cunning pigs begin to impose a rule that is in fact no better than that of the humans was. When written it was a metaphor of the USSR, and how Stalin abused the ideals of Marx, Engels and Lenin to his own ends. However, as the director of this production, Nikolai Foster, claims, the story of Animal Farm can still be seen in modern society, in figures such as Robert Mugabe.
Staying very close to the original Orwellian classic, all of the animals are played by actors in a convincing yet unridiculous way, donning long ears, horns or pig snouts and using specific movements or sounds to convey the animal they are portraying. It is a musical play, where the characters play the instruments themselves. There is also a new character; a human referred to in the credits as "Boy", who narrates the play, with the effect that he is reading the book Animal Farm to himself, and what we see is what he imagines as he reads.
Overall, it perfectly captured the despair and horror of the book, and was at times rather heartbreaking, as the original optimism of the animals is completely shattered. It's on in the West Yorkshire Playhouse until 8th November, and if you can I would strongly recommend that you go see it.
