The bard rests on his laurels, and swipes left and right
Come down the farm
PAUL DONOVAN applauds an adaptation that draws out the contemporary relevance of George Orwell’s satire
INEQUALITIES EXPOSED: Joshua-Alexander Williams as Blue and Tachia Newall as Napoleon in Animal Farm
[Kirsten McTernan] 
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ANGUS REID and MARIA DUARTE review The Courageous, The Cut, Christy, and On Swift Horses
TOM STONE sings the praises of one of the oldest open-air festivals in Britain
Chris Searle speaks to accordionist KAREN STREET
MAYER WAKEFIELD speaks to Urielle Klein-Mekongo about activism, musical inspiration and the black British experience
Animal Farm
Theatre Royal, Stratford East
THIS excellent adaptation of George Orwell’s iconic book gives a real contemporary feel to proceedings.
The original book, published in 1945, saw Orwell drawing what he saw as lessons from the early years of the Russian revolution. This Tatty Hennessy adaptation centres more on power dynamics, manipulation of group situations and inequality.
In places there is more than a hint of the recent history of the Labour Party, with a popular leader ousted and a manipulative shadowy figure putting his man into the top job. The role of manipulative pig, Squealer (Tom Simper), has certainly been made far more prominent than in the original book. A cross between Peter Mandelson and Uriah Heep.
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