George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ has been adapted many times over the years, but Tatty Hennessy’s version manages to capture the same fiery passion of revolution that is written on the pages and release it onto the stage. Myself, and Eve Georgiou had the pleasure to attend a performance put on at the Nottingham Playhouse, which will run to the 12th of April. So, if you are free one night soon grab your tickets quick!
The play’s set design manages to emulate a dystopian industrial style farm, with metal bars propping up a glass box where the farmer ‘Jones’ (played by Kaya Ulasli) lives. This industrial set reinforced one of the major themes in the play, being labour, as all the animals, even when they think they have found freedom, are merely cogs in the machine. This was also emulated in the props. Simple grey wired boxes were used throughout, to signify the animals’ cages, and machinery used in their labour. The character of the horse ‘Boxer’, (played by Gabriel Paul), heavily utilises these props, consistently dragging them across the stage, and as times goes by, they appear heavier and harder to move due to the intense labour and physical exhaustion he is under. Boxer’s character is a personal favourite of mine, and Paul manages to perfectly capture Boxer’s unwavering support for the revolution and for a better future. It isn’t until after his death, where the other animals realise these boxes, that they have been using to help build their new sanctuary, has instead meant they have created their own prison.
The costuming was another brilliant creative choice, with each actor wearing simple clothes almost as workwear. However, their designated animal is significantly branded somewhere on their person. I found this powerful, illustrating to an audience, for humans, that the most important part of their identity was their flesh, and how they are purely seen as beasts that can be utilised for our own gain. Other than this branding, the costumes do little else to signify the animal, instead emphasising the work they do, which I thought perfectly emphasised the main theme of unfair labour. The hen ‘Clara’ (played by Brydie Service) is in blue scrubs, which is perhaps not the first thing that comes to mind you think chicken. However, it emphasises her role as a caretaker to her eggs, as she devotes her time to protect, literally nursing her eggs, which makes her costume so fitting.
The main success of the play for me was the physicality as well as voice work from each actor. Because the costumes are representative of their roles in terms of their jobs rather than their animals, it perhaps would be difficult to tell who is who, without it literally being written out for us on each characters costume. However, each actor brilliantly embodied their animal, with each little physical movement reminiscent of their beast. I particularly thought Shakeel Kimotho who played ‘Mollie’, and Tachia Newall, who played ‘Napoleon’, were brilliant at this. The character of Mollie is very particular to the finer things in life, and Kimotho’s movements and prancing around the stage capture the essence of her character. When Napoleon morphs from pig to man in the penultimate scene, Newall’s movements are incredible, literally embodying this metamorphosis. This was further aided by each characters voice work. Even in the middle of lines, there could be a pause to let out a pig squeal or a horse’s neigh which I think helped serve as a constant reminder that these were animals. Particularly in more distressing scenes, hearing the wailing of animals contrasting with the shouting of humans only reinforced the innocence and oppression of certain characters.
There were so many powerful and touching moments throughout the play, from Clara’s monologue to Boxer’s death. I found Tom Simper’s performance as the henchman [or henchpig, I should say] ‘Squealer’ brilliant, particularly because I remember finding the character so manipulative and twisted in the book. Simper brings these traits wonderfully to the stage, gaslighting his way to success. The play also uses sign language throughout, which not only helped emphasise the political message of ‘all animals are equal’ but showcased the importance of inclusion for disabilities on the stage. I found that it helped connect the characters together, with personal moments only made more special with the use of sign language.
Thank you so much to Nottingham Playhouse for letting us come to watch this brilliant production! If you have a free night, I would definitely recommend making a trip and giving ‘Animal Farm’ a watch. If you want to see some brilliant performances with great physicality, and valuable political messaging that is particularly relevant in our current climate, this is the perfect piece of theatre to see.