Animal Farm at Theatre Royal Stratford East

George Orwell’s great modern classic is brought back to the stage in this both beautiful and brutal adaptation.

Tired of doing all the work and never seeing any reward for it while Farmer Jones lives it up on the spoils, the animals of Manor Farm rise up in revolt and take over the farm themselves. The animals declare all are equal and vote together on resolutions for the farm. But soon their leaders, the pigs, start to succumb to the corrupting nature of power.

This adaptation, by Tatty Hennessy, is pacey. Orwell hardly hung about but Hennessy’s play has a rapidity that allows her to gut-punch the audience relentlessly. Not a second is wasted in this tight script.

While the original Animal Farm was an allegory for Russian Communism, with each character representing a role in Russian society or even specific leaders, this adaptation concerns itself less with geopolitical criticism. It fiercely maintains, however, and in some ways even strengthens, the story’s themes of inequality, oppression, tyranny, deprivation and poverty.

Animal Farm was never a barrel of laughs but there’s a real grimness to this adaptation. This isn’t animals sneaking into a barn for exciting night-time rendezvous. This is chains, cages, industrial girders and concrete. It’s dark, dank battery farming that immediately makes this show something more devastating.

There are no fun and wondrous animal puppets. There are no prosthetics, masks or fluffy costumes. And it’s all the more brilliant for it. The costume design (by Hayley Grindle) is visionary. It couldn’t be more simple but it’s incredibly powerful in its purity, showing the deprivation and the poverty that these characters have suffered. In particular, the pigs’ dirty wife beaters frame their branded flesh perfectly.

Take a good look at the 13-strong cast list because each of them is fantastic. But the pigs and the horses deserve special mention. Tianah Hodding, Gabriel Paul, Robin Morrissey, Tom Simper and Tachia Newall are real stars and any one of their performances would be worth the price of the ticket.

Amy Leach’s excellent directing brings a gripping atmosphere to the show. It would be easy to let the animal-based choreography become overwrought and tedious but there’s the blend subtly with occasional bigger movements is just right. And the braying and grunting mixed into the dialogue are made to feel wonderfully natural and never forced.

Animal Farm is outstanding.

Jim Compton-Hall
Photos: Kirsten McTernan

Animal Farm is at Theatre Royal Stratford East from 7^th February until 8^th March 2025. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.