Animal Farm: The English Literature Classic Being Brought To Life

Hello word! Welcome back to another blog. Today I will be taking you through my thoughts on George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm, which I saw at the Nottingham Playhouse on 2nd April 2025.

This tells the story of a group of animals who after banishing their human farmer, decide to take control and run the farm themselves. But little do they know that it would be a more harmful decision to do so. I've studied this play before in secondary school, so this was an opportunity I had to see, as the power of the arts will help me better my horizons on the story itself.

All of the actors in the show had their unique characteristics when it came to these key characters in this famous English literature book. So here is each of them. 

Everal A Walsh opened up the show as Old Major. What a powerful opening this was, and it set the tone of the play beautifully. Even though this character only makes a brief appearance within the story, his words and speech were so important throughout the rest of the show, as everyone slowly begins to forget and adapt to their own way, thinking that there needs to be adaptation.

Robin Morrisey and Tachia Newall took on the roles of Snowball and Napoleon. They really got into their roles, showing their different views on how to run animal farm. Snowball thinks the hard work will result in the best outcome long term, whereas napoleon thought the opposite. And napoleons transformation from hoof to hand was pure art to see. And his right hand man squealer (played by Tom Sniper who used a lot of BSL which I liked) at first had doubts, but after showing napoleons bad side should you challenge him, influenced him to be fully immersed in his views.

Tianah Hodding took on the role of Clover, and she led the whole show with elegance and grace, making the deaf community proud. In this version clover could see from the beginning that napoleon being in charge was a bad idea, but she made sure she stood her ground. And her gestures and interactions with other animals were gorgeous to see.

Gabriel Paul took on the role of the strongest animal of them all Boxer. I loved his portrayal of this determined character. His gestures, the sound horses make and his he forms his sentences was amazing to see. And I loved how when he hugs clover, they use nuzzling like real horses would, showing how committed they were to the characters. 

Shakeel Kimotho took on the role of Mollie. This character even after jones was banished from the farm was still under the influence of thinking that all humans are good people, with one example of how she didn’t want to give her ribbon away. But she was right to escape the fake when she did, as she missed things getting extremely painful to see. 

Brydie Service took on the role of Clara. As an autistic person, it’s great to see a fellow disabled performer showing that anything I’d possible. And her desire to keep her eggs knowing it would break her values really shine through, but it’s such a shame that napoleon decided to end it badly. 

David Nellist took on the role or Benjamin the donkey. Now you would think that this character wouldn’t care about what happens to the farm, but that could not be more false. Thanks to his impressive eyesight, he was able to signal the warning signs that napoleon is not that he’s all made out to be. 

Joshua-Alexander Williams took on the role of Blue the dog. Through napoleons influence, we could see a transformation through personality and an alteration in the costume. From the cute canine he was, to the dangerous dog who was loyal to napoleon. But it was only until the end where he got to see Napoleon’s true nature. 

Farshid Rokey took on the role of Minty the sheep. I loved this urban take of this animal, as particularly for modern audiences and for students studying this story, it’ll help keep the audience more engaged. His thoughts on animal farm were swayed towards napoleon but like with blue, until he saw his true nature, it was too late. 

Finally, Em Prendergast took on the role of Milo. This character added some comedy into the show, breaking the high stakes in between each sections. Which I liked, as the animal sounds combined with the way she delivered her lines were genius. And I loved the fact she was travelling on a scooter as well, which I thought was genius! 

What I loved about this piece is the setting of it all. The actors weren’t dressed as the animals they were given, but the fact that the whole story is based on a revolution brought the seriousness of the play. I also loved the set design and how less really is more, as along with lighting and sound affects, you can really play around with the set. I also loved the opening where George Orwell's voice to introduce the animals were so immersive, as it feels like you're there with him throughout the story, or at least to help you get settled into it.

What I also loved is the use of BSL within the play. Yes there we’re performances where they had a BSL interpreter, but having segments of this beautiful art form in the show was a great idea to have. And I even know now what “4 legs good, 2 legs bad” means in BSL. A brilliant way to make it accessible for the deaf community.

I don’t think I have any downsides to it, as it was all really good. But for me personally I still need to do some more research into the theme of communism. But after my friend, who I saw the show with me, stated abit more about what it is and the examples, it’s definitely given me a good starting point. But other than that I thought it was just a spectacular performance.

Overall I would give the show a full house. It had energy, it had drama, and everyone in the cast brought the energy in the room. I can see why it was nominated for an Olivier Award.

And that is it for my review of the George Orwell classic. Let me know if you have seen the show and what your thoughts on it are. And Be sure to check out the link below to the Nottingham playhouse to see what they have to offer. These include upcoming shows, how you can support of the company, and also opportunities particularly for creatives in the East Midlands like myself.

Homepage - Nottingham Playhouse

See you soon for another blog. Until next time…

This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)