Reviewed by Alice at The Golden Goose Theatre.
Ticket was gifted in return for an honest review.
Ticket was gifted in return for an honest review.
TNT Theatre brings two Orwell classics to life; 1984 and Animal Farm.
Animal Farm
Animal Farm was the first helping of Orwell's genius.
The themes within Animal Farm centre around the capacity for ordinary individuals to continue to believe in a revolution that has been utterly betrayed. It was Orwell's take on the Russian Revolution in 1917 and how it faired after.
When entering the space we see two steel-framed bunk beds with a few other pieces of props. A hole-filled blanket, dirty pillows, nothing much else...but over the course of the play, these few bits of set become windmills, chicken coups, barricades. The pillow is a chicken, a dead sheep, a goose.
The wonder of this type of theatre is how clever imagination within a space can connect us. The imagination of the director on how to use a pillow to create a duck opens ours, and cleverly connects us with the piece.
The direction by Gaspard Legendre and the Acting Company are to be hugely congratulated on a brilliant job. When something works this well it is because everyone believes in the vision.
The adaption that I was so thoroughly entertained by was written by Paul Stebbings, who managed to pull every sinew from this classic piece of literature.
Slowing the pace when needed and pushing it forward elsewhere.
Tony Wadham played Boxer the horse and Old Major among others. Every characterisation was perfection. The little touches with Boxer with the tapping of his hoof was genius, and the grabbing of all the available comedy from the drunk farmer divine. Possibly he was the highlight of the show, but in truth, everyone was fab.
Gerald Dorrity played Snowball, the pig who truly believes in the revolution only to be betrayed. Again, Gerald multi-rolled changing from one to another with ease. With only a voice and slight body change we saw a new person, or indeed animal, effortlessly.
Janeks Babidories played Napoleon, the villain of Animal Farm and ultimately, the warning. A chiselled face and charismatic aurora had you believing why he would be trusted and mistrusted all at once.
Again, brilliant. I bought into every one of them.
Jack Herlihy and Bastian Tyrko finished off this very talented cast. Jack with his very genteel but silently confrontational cow, and Bastian with his insanely good personification of dog. Whatever superlatives I had for other cast members really do apply to these guys also.
Golden Goose Theatre is a small space and must be used wisely otherwise sight-lines can easily be lost. Luckily here with Animal Farm, this wasn't an issue. At times you did have to turn and/or lean to capture moments that utilised the audience aisles but this added to the feel of separation in the piece.
The lighting was subtle but very effective, and the use of song throughout was a clever unification of the men v the animals.
This was a show that was thoroughly thought out and performed with passion and style. I loved it.
1984
The second of Orwell's classics was 1984.
1984 gave us the popularized word, "Orwellian". It's a play about political awareness and the importance of your freedom of speech. At its centre it deals with the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and repressive regimentation of people and behaviours within society.
Orwell predicted a world of constant war and fear and how this would give governments justification to repress thought. How impressive to see that level of foresight back in 1948! His writing is still massively relevant. Today maybe even more so...never mind "New Speak", how about "Fake News"?
For me, 1984 is a futuristic warning, almost Sci-Fi. Entering the space it didn't quite hit that tone. Beige cloth, a hand-stencilled 'V' (for victory) and a cardboard cutout TV screen for the ever-present Big Brother. I got it, but it felt somewhat cheap rather than clever.
This version started at the end and then had a circular narrative. This would've worked fine but in truth, the hour and 10 minutes that followed were not edited as well - or were simply too short - to explain to us the complexities behind the events unfolding.
At times, crucial moments of the story were thrown in last minute. For example, Winston's utmost terror of rats. We needed a few more nods around Winston's ultimate fear in order for the finale to have the impact it deserves. The 'two + two = five' mind game was never mentioned at all prior to O'Brien asking how many fingers he was holding up during Winston's torture. This lost quite a bit of the relevance of the Party's power if we are never given the opportunity to understand why the sum is the way it is and what O'Brien hopes to achieve from Winston's conditioning to agree.
*Spoiler Alert* Having Julia and Winston's love affair condensed meant you lost just how big a deal it is when they betray one other which was a real shame.
The director was Paul Stebbings who also wrote the adaption with Paul Smith. Paul certainly got the play moving along and used clever set changes with what he had, but cloths saying 'forest' and 'church' did not pack a clever punch.
As already mentioned, sight-lines in Golden Goose Theatre can be difficult. When Winston and Julia sat or laid down it was very difficult to see them. Moving far stage left and right also meant you often couldn't see actors. I'd have liked the whole show pulled in a little more with regards to the setting.
At times, clever use of sound and lights did great work, and the team were accomplished harmonises during the musical numbers. These break out moments especially added a surreal touch to the piece which I was really on board with.
Jack Herlihy played Winston and very, very well. A nice sarcastic beginning transforming to a lost man. In love, then broken. A rollercoaster of emotions from Jack.
Julia was played by Ellen Victoria who was perfectly fine but in truth I think the script let her down somewhat. We needed to see more of Julia and her reasons why she was drawn to Winston. Sadly with their lack of stage time together pre their union, that just wasn't there.
Avena Mansergh-Wallace and Tom Verenocke were the multi rollers. From Parsons and Washerwoman, to Mavis and Charrington. These guys were great. Brilliant characterisation with use of the voice, subtle body language changes, at times a wig. They were stunning in their work.
Bruno Roubicek played O'Brien and was sadly my biggest problem with 1984. As a character, O'Brien should have mystique, an underline sadomasochism with ultimate pride in his position. A cameo to keep off-stage for the majority of the show, only to steal it when on. Roubicek wasn't strong enough. Especially when next to the other four cast members. I didn't particularly believe him as O'Brien and that was a major fundamental.
For me this version of 1984 just didn't hit the highs I wanted it to.
At times it was well acted and certainly well sung. The script needed work and very likely extending to build more of the love affair.
It was a solid 3/5, but knowing the quality of Orwell's work, it should have been higher.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Animal Farm
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1984
Both productions run at The Golden Goose Theatre in London until Saturday 20th July. Tickets are available from https://www.goldengoosetheatre.co.uk/whatson/animal-farm-and-1984---a-george-orwell-double-bill
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