From the opening scene, the production pitches suffering so high—wailing and all—that it leaves itself nowhere to go. The emotional intensity is already at its peak before anything unfolds, making for a numbing rather than escalating experience.
Visually, though, the set design is incredible. The cages and scaffolding, prison garms and streetwear, the looming Big House behind the glass—it all works to make the adaptation look relevant and striking. Unfortunately the ensemble lack cohesion. Moments that should feel revolutionary instead feel sparse, missing that collective urgency needed to make the story resonate.
Perhaps the biggest failing of this adaptation is that there isn’t much Animal in Animal Farm. The characters are referred to as animals, but they are neither dressed as nor acting like them. What we have instead are uniforms stamped with barcode font SHEEP, it’s an efficient choice that suits the modern industrial context. They don’t sound like animals either. This unplayful approach strips the piece of its essential magic—the very thing that makes Orwell’s allegory so rich and layered.
David Nellist as Benjamin, the old donkey, delivers a great comedic performance which is otherwise lacking in this adaptation. Quick to critique the new regime, he keeps reminding us that it’s still the same farm, while others cling to an illusion of change, projecting their hope onto the “idyllic” landscape.
Where this adaptation missteps most, though, is in flattening Orwell’s work into a broad statement about power. Animal Farm isn’t just about power—it’s about Orwell’s very specific experiences of post-WWII communism and wanting to critique a regime that was at the time endorsed by the British public. Reducing it to a generic metaphor takes the meat out of it. And that’s the irony—this is a story about animals. The adaptation lacks the texture, the flesh, the layers that Orwell built into his allegory.
Director Amy Leach describes this version as “youthful, charged, and energetic,” but beyond some updated slang, it’s hard to see what that actually means. She also claims that it “connects with now” by touching on everything from factory farming to gentrification and prison life. A few moments were effective, such as the symbolic use of medals. Their role in the story hints at a very English sense of patriotism and the ways symbols like these manipulate power and perception and the rare female centred scene which tackles the issue of separating animals from their babies. But in trying to reference too many things at once and without much confidence, the production loses itself.
One of the stronger elements is its integration of access and inclusion. The incorporation of sign language and collaboration with deaf and disabled artists feels thoughtful and effective. The casting of Black actors subtly hints at the overrepresentation of people of color in the criminal justice system. But again the hint isn’t enough—it gets lost among competing ideas and distractions. The production tries to be about too much at once, but Orwell’s Animal Farm was already about something very specific, and that’s what gave it its weight.
In the end, this adaptation has moments of brilliance but lacks the clarity, cohesion, and, ironically, the animal spirit needed to make it truly impactful. For fans of Orwell this will be a bit of a disappointment.
Review written by Tasnim Siddiqa Amin.
Animal Farm is currently showing until Saturday 1st March 2025 at Stratford East Theatre Royal. To find out more about the production, visit here…
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