"Animal Farm" by George Orwell.

Adapted for the stage by Ian Wooldridge.

Derby Theatre.

Sick and tired of maltreatment under their enslavement from man, the animals of Manor Farm revolt. Released from all chains, there is but one key rule: All animals are equal. Yet, as the story progresses we soon see some animals are more equal than others…

Orwell uses the turmoil faced on the farm by the animals as a metaphor for the Russian Revolution. It shows how a people's fight for freedom can quickly morph into a power play as chaos ensues.

Orwell plants lies, illiteracy and even a head hunt throughout the play to explain the oppression, propaganda and excuses that led to the rise of the Soviet dictatorship.

It's relatively easy for a film to create the feeling of power and fear, but not so easy in the theatre, but both of these feelings are well portrayed here. It takes a talented group to create such an uneasy feeling over an audience but in the second part of this play, the unease of the power pig, Napoleon was apparent.

Napoleon is played by Ida Regan, Napoleon emerges as the leader of Animal Farm after the Rebellion. Based on Joseph Stalin, Napoleon uses military force to intimidate the other animals and consolidate his power. In his supreme craftiness, Napoleon proves more treacherous than his counterpart, Snowball.

Snowball, played by Samater Ahmed, is one from the old school, following the rules of Old Major, but when he comes up against Napoleon and his dogs, he is soon dispensed. The pig challenges Napoleon for control of Animal Farm after the Rebellion. Based on Leon Trotsky, Snowball is intelligent, passionate, eloquent, and less subtle and devious than his counterpart, Napoleon. Snowball seems to win the loyalty of the other animals and cement his power.

Boxer, played by Sam Black, is a solid supporter of Napoleon's, even though there's doubt towards the end, he too is sold down the river by Napoleon. The cart-horse whose incredible strength, dedication, and loyalty play a key role in the early prosperity of Animal Farm and the later completion of the windmill.

Quick to help but rather slow-witted, Boxer shows much devotion to Animal Farm’s ideals but little ability to think about them independently. He naïvely trusts the pigs to make all his decisions for him. His two mottoes are “I will work harder” and “Napoleon is always right.”

Killian Macardle, as Squealer, is Napoleon's right hand pig and helps convince the rest of the farm animals that what Napoleon says is the best way forward. The pig spreads Napoleon’s propaganda among the other animals. Squealer justifies the pigs’ monopolization of resources and spreads false statistics pointing to the farm’s success. Orwell uses Squealer to explore the ways in which those in power often use rhetoric and language to twist the truth and gain and maintain social and political control.

Mollie is played by Amy Drake. Mollie is the vain, flighty mare who pulls Mr. Jones’s carriage. Mollie craves the attention of human beings and loves being groomed and pampered. She has a difficult time with her new life on Animal Farm, as she misses wearing ribbons in her mane and eating sugar cubes. She represents the petit bourgeoisie that fled from Russia a few years after the Russian Revolution.

Polly Lister plays Old Major, the prize-winning boar whose vision of a socialist utopia serves as the inspiration for the Rebellion. Three days after describing the vision and teaching the animals the song “Beasts of England,” Major dies, leaving Snowball and Napoleon to struggle for control of his legacy. Orwell based Major on both the German political economist Karl Marx and the Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Ilych Lenin.

All other characters that we know from Orwell's novel are played by the cast. The hound dogs are represented by puppet style rods with vicious canine heads that almost glow in the dark, and with the sound effects for the bunch of hounds, almost make you fear for your life, never mind their on stage victim.

Directed by Iqbal Khan, assisted by Jack Clearwater, this production is not the same as any production I've seen before. For one, a lot of the story is condensed and related by the characters; the whole play, with the interval, only lasts just under two hours.

There's a lot of comedy, that I may have missed in other productions, and there's a breaking of the fourth wall as the new animal rules are explained to the audience.

The various animals are differentiated by animal shaped headgear, designed by Sarah Worrall, which leaves the rest of the actor free to act the physicality of their animal character, and to clearly deliver Orwell's chilling script.

At the end when the human farmer from the next farm appears, they are presented as aliens, and we see this through the eyes of the animals, with several red "eyes" and in giant puppet form, almost like some creature from "War Of the Worlds" with a robotic voice.

Set & Lighting Designer is Ciaran Bagnall. With most of the lighting being of a blood red colour, it accentuated the danger and the off-stage animal assassinations. There's a clever use of lighting used to highlight the animal rules and the amendments of those rules.

The set itself is also a clever creation with part of the stage being tore up by the animals at the start; those parts being used to create the windmill that controversially split the animals even more than previously.

Su Newell's costume designs do not distract from the story, nor the actors. While they look like the rags used for painting your house, take a closer look as they also give the hue and feel of the animal that the actors are bringing to life, and the trousers also give a hint to the several characters that the actors take on beside their main roles.

The music has been composed by Dylan Towley. The highlight piece for me is when Moses delivers a piece that sounded like it was being performed in the interval of an American Superbowl. Big and proud, regaling the loveliness of the Sugar Candy Mountain, presenting images of an almost Willy Wonka style paradise.

The sound design, by Gerry Marsden is crystal clear, which it always is at Derby Theatre. There are parts that make you jump if you're not ready for the sound impact.

I'm not a political person, but I love the politicalness Orwell presents, which as everyone knows is the same story that is going on today as was in 1945 when the novel was first published.

Who could not raise a snigger when the animals who were "all for one" and equal became power hungry, promising everything, making rules to live by, and then breaking the rules for their own benefit, and then when the rules are broken, amendments presented until the greed takes over completely creating an animal class system where the rich get richer and the poor....... Almost surprised that one of the characters' names isn't changed to Boris!

I am a fan of Orwell's work and this is certainly one of his best pieces, made even better in this adaptation.

Can I also just add that, as a fan of accents, this production has so many accents for the different characters that it made the production even more interesting and enjoyable to me.

There is an age guidance of 11+ and I can understand that because right from the start there are sections that will make you jump and could rattle the nerves of a younger audience member. But anyone over 11 years of age is going to love this very entertaining production.

"Animal Farm" is at Derby Theatre until Saturday 16 March.

Photography by Pamela Raith.