George Orwell’s Animal Farm is such a transparently
allegorical tale that it cries out for reinterpretation, generation after
generation. Unsurprising, then, that Young Everyman Playhouse should choose it
as a vehicle to explore their own ideas of contemporary society and politics.
Laurence Wilson’s stage adaptation was made in 2014 for Liverpool’s
Tell Tale Theatre Company, and it injects the story with infectious energy.
Unlike that original production, which placed its characters in human garb but
gave them all the gestures of the respective animals, YEP have chosen a more
generic animalistic stance for them all, relying on masks to differentiate
between the species.
It’s an impressive staging, with Abi Jones and Chloe Wyn’s
farmyard set making excellent use of the space. Here LIPA have worked with YEP
on creating a two tier barn-like structure to the rear incorporates a screen
which enables some scenes to occur in shadow-play above the stage, whilst the
rest of the thrust is open, giving room for a very physical performance by the
large cast. Here and there some of the blocking places a crowd of actors
between the speaker and the audience, but vocal projection is strong and the
lines are all audible if not visible.
A programme note explains that this adaptation provides the company
with a playground to experiment with what matters to them. It’s therefore
surprising that they deliver the text with a very direct approach. Unlike many
of their earlier devised shows, the play contains no outward sign of personal input
from the performers. What is very evident is their obvious passion for the
material and their drive to punch it out with considerable force.
Wilson’s version of Orwell’s classic shows itself to be a
vibrant vehicle for bringing life and pertinence to the story, and YEP have
done a stalwart job of reviving it for a new audience.
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| Production photograph by Brian Roberts |
Star Rating: Three Stars
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