Animal Farm, Deby Theatre Review
Animal Farm production image. Credit Pamela RaithReviewer - Sam
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
This is an excellent retelling of George Orwell’s 1944 classic novel, Animal Farm. When the animals living at Manor Farm overthrow their master, Mr (Farmer) Jones, they all begin to imagine it’ll be an opportunity to live a life of freedom and equality in their little barn. However, it’s not as simple as you might think. The pigs you think are just ordinary pigs turn out to be brainwashing comrades, who gradually take control of the whole farm.
Soon the other animals on the farm realise they are not as equal as they once thought they were because the seven commandments keep changing and they’re working all hours for a ‘better life’ on behalf of their new president, Napoleon.
The cast is small but exceptionally talented. They play various characters throughout the performance, but the main characters are Snowball and Benjamin (Samater Ahmed), Boxer (Sam Black), Mollie and the Raven (Amy Drake), Old Major and a horse (Polly Lister), Squealer (Killian Macardle) and Napoleon (Ida Regan). Each character has a different accent, and you wouldn’t know which one was their real accent as they were all that good.
The whole performance was mesmerising. It was psychedelic, harrowing, funny, poetic, interactive, thought provoking and lively. There are many things I could mention to compliment this show because I was engaged throughout, and it kept me wondering what was coming next, but two things stood out to me the most. Firstly, the lighting and sound suited the show perfectly because it was dark and disturbing - these were designed by Ciaran Bagnall and Gerry Marsden. Secondly, the cast’s body language and eye contact with the audience was undeniably the show’s strongest part. Not once did any of the cast members slip out of character, they really mastered the mannerisms of the animals they were portraying.
I think director, Iqbal Khan has achieved more than he probably could have imagined with this performance. He says in the programme ‘My ambition was to collect together a company and creative team that were all artists and activists, determined to find imaginative and meaningful ways to explore the re-telling of this story, for audience now, living through turbulent times. We’ve embraced both the cruelty and comedy of this black satire.’ And in my opinion, the team has done just that.
I am now keen to read the story and learn a little more about the Russian Revolution, however, I did feel that despite the novel being as old as it is, it felt more relevant now because of what has been happening across the world. Politics will continue to rule our lives, but will we ever witness ourselves being brainwashed by the people who are meant to have our best interests at heart again? Let’s hope not.
If you haven’t read the story by George Orwell like me, you will be absolutely fine to still go and see this. This production is clear, easy to follow, and the powerful messages are still conveyed even if you’re not familiar with the Russian Revolution. I did leave feeling quite moved by some of the messaging as I was shocked by how manipulative Napoleon was.
If you are interested in seeing Animal Farm at Derby Theatre, it is on until 16 March and you can buy your tickets here.
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