Forget everything you knew about George Orwell’s Animal Farm. A new theatre production is reinventing the classic for Australia’s contemporary political landscape, with abundant local references to some of the most controversial political figures of our time.
Landing at Arts Centre Melbourne from August 12 to 22, indie theatre company Bloomshed – known for its democratic approach to writing and directing, with productions developed collaboratively by the group – returns with its award-winning production of the renowned satire. When Orwell first published his novella in 1945, it was a scathing critique of creeping authoritarianism and bureaucracy in Stalin’s Soviet Union, told through an allegory of farm animals revolting against humans.
But how exactly do you translate this cross-species tale to the stage? With their interpretation, co-writers James Jackson and Elizabeth Brennan, two of Bloomshed’s founding members, have taken a less literal approach.
“We tried to find elements of humanity that suggest these creatures rather than pushing in that direction [of mimicking animals],” says Brennan, “We’re dressed as humans, with our costumes tilting towards looking like workers.”
Jackson and Brennan have found that the original allegory – which transplants the rise and fall of the Russian Revolution to Manor Farm in the English countryside – still resonates with audiences 80 years on. Their version adds contemporary references (including small-screen icon Peppa Pig); lots of confetti; and “a nightmarish party atmosphere with a sort of fairytale quality to it”, Jackson says.
“Half of us were surprised at how relevant the work still is. Animal Farm is really a critique of institutions and parliamentary process, as well as the corruption of that process. So we’ve updated the political situations to show how much things really haven’t changed.”
It’s a production that hits close to home. And the choice to set it on a farm Down Under, with echoes of present-day Australian politics, makes the allegory “even more on point”, according to Jackson. Think Aussie-accented farm pigs – dressed and walking like humans – “getting hauled up in front of the federal senate for embezzling public money”.
“Maybe because of the cultural cringe we just don’t find our own history very sexy but I guess in light of the [recent attention on] One Nation, that’s really what we’re talking about,” Jackson says. “That’s why it’s beholden to artists to promote an understanding of Australian political history.”
“We’re certainly playing with archetypes of political characters we’re all familiar with in Australia,” adds Brennan.
In fact, many recent political figures served as inspiration for the show. “There’s a lot of Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott in Napoleon,” says Brennan, who stars as the play’s main antagonist and the president of Animal Farm. “We’ve also got a politician in the second act who is startlingly reminiscent of Bob Katter, whether deliberately or not. We’re quietly obsessed with him as a character.”
Above all, the Bloomshed crew wants you to laugh. “It’s very funny,” Jackson says. “It’s a comedy, it’ll amuse you. We’re not here to read the book to the audience.”
Broadsheet is a proud media partner of the Arts Centre Melbourne. Animal Farm is on at the Arts Centre’s Fairfax Studio from August 12–22. Tickets are on sale now.
Broadsheet is a proud media partner of Arts Centre Melbourne
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