Review: Animal Farm at Kingston’s Rose Theatre

First published in 1945, George Orwell’s Animal Farm cleverly satirises the Russian Revolution and subsequent rise of Stalinism within a farmyard setting.

Fed up with their treatment at the hands of mankind, Orwell’s politically charged narrative tells the tale of the animals of Manor Farm, led by pigs Napoleon and Snowball, taking over the estate and attempting to establish a utopia based on the mantra “four legs good, two legs bad”. Yet despite the initial promises of equality for all animals, the perils of totalitarianism are never far away.

First performed at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow in 1982, Ian Wooldridge’s stage adaptation of the book is now more than 40 years old, yet remains as relevant as ever in today’s political landscape. Kingston’s very own Rose Theatre is the second stop on its 2025 UK Spring Tour.

Hoping the longevity of the production was a testament to its quality, I went in with high expectations, especially knowing that director Iqbal Khan had been entrusted with overseeing the Opening Ceremonies of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The unease of Manor Farm is instantly palpable, cemented by a futuristic and alien sound design. The green lighting and surveillance cameras lean into this updated and engaging dystopian look.

Costume designer Su Newell has done away with the traditional wardrobe, instead delineating the animals through the actors’ intricate headpieces. A refreshing change from ordinary theatre, these skeletal outfits add to the growing unease as the play develops.

Seeing the humans behind the characters works well to serve the growing similarities between the pigs and their former enslavers, one of the story’s key themes. The minimalistic costumes cleverly demonstrate the fusion between the behaviour of man and beast.

The stage design is similarly excellent. Set designer Ciarán Bagnall has made superb use of a limited set of props, with wooden boards doubling up as everything from battle weapons to windmill sails. While such minimalism can sometimes leave a play feeling too simplistic, the actors in this adaptation carry it off well enough to avoid any such accusations.

The play makes use of just six actors, each performing multiple parts in a slimmed-down list of seven core characters and a handful of supporting minor parts. This tends to work well due to the acting calibre of the cast, who possess the talent to make the duality of roles feel seamless.

Particularly superb is Rhian Lynch’s portrayal of the despot Napoleon and Sam Black as the ageing yet reliable carthorse Boxer. Both actors throw themselves wholeheartedly into their roles. Lynch’s portrayal of Napoleon’s iron fisted tyranny is chilling in all the best possible ways. Black, however, steals the show, garnering sympathy by perfectly treading the fine line between stupidity and endearment with his inability to see the bigger picture and ever-repeated pledges to work harder.

Lewis Griffin also deserves praise for his performance of the skilled manipulator Squealer, chief propagandist of Animal Farm, delivering his lines with a keen slyness that will make your skin crawl.

One criticism of Wooldridge’s adaptation is the script. The plot can be tricky to follow at some points, and I would be wary of going in blind without any previous understanding of Orwell’s original story.

The small injections of comedy can also come off jarring. The occasional laughs elicited from the audience feel like an unnecessary addition to the play’s otherwise serious and disturbing nature. That said, I wholeheartedly enjoyed the performance overall.

As the curtain fell, I found myself wondering what Orwell himself would have thought. While I despair to imagine what the man himself would make of today’s political landscape, I’m sure he’d be honoured to witness such an exemplary adaptation of his work.