IODS PRESENTS... ANIMAL FARM

Animal Farm is a fable with a sting.

Much has been written about the threat of Communism, but it remained to the late George Orwell, farsighted British author of the brilliant and frightening 1984, to expose the Russian experiment for what it really is; an idealist's dream, converted by realists into a nightmare.

Led by three pigs, the disgruntled animals overthrow their human owner, take control of the farm and create a new society in which: "All Animals Are Equal." The Pigs are first to take charge, but as each of them vie for power, the society becomes corrupted and the animals are led into a dark and brutal existence, in which "Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others."

In this timely allegory, you will meet beasts whose prototypes have dominated news headlines for many fearful years. Opening on a note of joyous triumph for the creatures who have emancipated themselves from the cruel mastery of a human owner, the play mounts inexorably to a climax of disillusionment in which the other animals discover themselves now subject to the rule of even more ruthless autocrats: the greedy, cunning pigs.

Intermingling humour and drama, Animal Farm wrings the emotions of its listeners, leaving audiences shaken with the tale of a tragedy that happened in a mythical barnyard far away but could happen in our own back yard.

Prices include £1.50 Theatre Maintenance Levy