There’s rebellion on the ‘Animal Farm’
After touring a maze of Albuquerque schools, George Orwell’s satire of the Russian Revolution opens at The Cell Theatre this week.
Duke City Repertory will stage “Animal Farm” starting with a gala opening at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 5. Performances will continue through March 15.
After years of suppression and harsh conditions, the animals of Manor Farm revolt against their human owner and adopt new laws: “Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad.” Proclaiming Animalism and self-rule, their dream of paradise erodes when the pigs grab for more control over the farm, leaving the others to ask “Are all animals created equal?”
Orwell penned his cautionary tale in England between 1943 and 1944. The country’s wartime alliance with the Soviet Union had reached its height. He believed the Soviet Union was a brutal dictatorship, built upon a cult of personality and enforced by a reign of terror. A number of British and American publishers rejected the book until it was published in 1945 as the Cold War quickly followed World War II.
An adaptation of the book fills Duke Repertory’s regular slot for winter classics, director Katie Becker Colón said. The stage version pares down the book to its essentials in a 75-minute performance.
“We want a plot and characters that have the ability to undergo the most transformation,” she said.
“Very quickly, the pigs start to become the ruling class,” Colón continued. “They start to wield their power over the other animals.”
By the end of the play, the animals realize their only choice is to rebel against their porcine oppressors.
“We’ve come full circle,” Colón said. “We leave it open to interpretation, but it does feel like an endless cycle.”
The story remains consistently relevant because of our constantly shifting government, she said.
“And self-government within our own lives is constantly debated.”
“Animal Farm” stars an ensemble cast including company members Amelia Ampuero, Ezra Colón, Frank Taylor Green and Josh Heard, as well as alumni Merritt Glover and Willis Miller.