Animal Farm wraps up its production at Leeds Playhouse this weekend. The Leeds Playhouse and Stratford East co-production travels to Nottingham Playhouse next week.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of George Orwell’s fable — a fitting milestone to share its symbolic messages with Leeds’ culture scene. Animal Farm makes you wonder: Is there hope for positive change? It’s a question as frightening as it is alluring.
Despite its allegory, the performance feels viscerally real. Adapted from Orwell’s 1945 novel by Tatty Hennessy, director Amy Leach and co-director Jordi M. Carter prove it is far from outdated. Its relevance through power, propaganda, and manipulation (unfortunately) lands with precision. What feels abstract in the real world is easy to digest onstage. Animal Farm forces us to confront questions we’re scared to ask but need to examine — through bold movement, resonant words and provoking sound.
As a musical enthusiast, I wondered if the absence of song and dance would lose me. I was wrong. The cast gripped me with sharp dialogue, pulling me into their scheming until I felt complicit. Their personalities aligned with the animals, equally terrifying and impressive. And through animalistic sound, it was a primal performance, full of raw energy. They blurred the lines between humans and creatures.
“I was so impressed by how subtly they embodied the animals. The music and atmosphere combined created something so immersive,” casting director Lucy Casson told me. She described the performance as “physical”. And in one word, she captured the staging and acting which formed something greater than the sum of its parts. Not anyone could pull off something this daring. Lucy agrees, giving Amy credit where credit is due.
The cast’s familiarity felt years deep, but getting there wasn’t linear. Lucy faced record audition numbers. While overwhelming, her prior work with Amy put her at ease. “Having worked with Amy before, I know I’m going to love it. I know I’m going to love the process. She’s a really inclusive director”. Lucy’s voice brightens as she talks about Amy. She adds that actors will join projects blindly for her directing.
Jordi reflects nothing less than exceptional about Amy. “The way she works as an artist and leader is collaborative; she always makes space for everyone in her team to try out new ideas”, says Jordi.
With a stark message of corruption and power, I wondered if Animal Farm evoked complicated feelings among the cast. Talking with Jordi, he reflected on the performance’s metatheatrical message. He brought up our shortcomings in societal change since Orwell’s story was originally written 80 years ago. But he is hopeful, and it is mediated through a promising performance. “Despite how heartbreaking and raw Tatty Hennessy’s adaptation of Animal Farm is, it is our hope for positive change in the world. It is as much about joy and uprising as the dangers of power and tunnel vision”.
Animal Farm is at the Quarry Theatre at Leeds Playhouse until 29 March and Nottingham Playhouse from 2-12 April.
A Leeds Playhouse and Stratford East co-production in association with Nottingham Playhouse
Animal Farm By George Orwell
Adapted by Tatty Hennessy
Quarry Theatre, Leeds Playhouse until 29 March 2025
Age 11+
Box office 0113 213 7700
Book online leedsplayhouse.org.uk
Main image: Joshua Alexander Williams as Blue. Photography by Kirsten McTernon.
