NEWS: Animal Farm @ Theatre Royal

Image: The Cast of Animal Farm, image by Manuel Harlan

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

Never anything less than acutely relevant since its publication 76 years ago, George Orwell’s world-famous fable tells the story of the animals of Manor Farm, who drive out their human oppressor to run the farm themselves. But what comes after the revolution?

Directed by Robert Icke – whose version of Orwell’s equally-famous 1984 was a smash-hit in the West End and on Broadway – this new adaption, which visits Theatre Royal from Tuesday 22^nd-Saturday 26^th February, is a Children’s Theatre Partnership production in association with world-class producing theatre Birmingham Rep.

The puppetry skills of Toby Olié – who helped create the stunning life-size horse puppets of War Horse – breathe life into the non-human stars. No stranger to the factory floor, Olié played the back end of the titular horse in the original National Theatre production before being promoted to the head when the show was ported over to the West End.

Bunny Christie, the winner of prestigious Tony and Olivier awards for the outstanding set design of the original London production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, caps off an award-winning creative team for this dynamic, daring and contemporary take on a timeless story.

Animal Farm is at Theatre Royal, Newcastle from Tuesday 22^nd-Saturday 26^th February.