Review | Long Live Animal Farm! | Fifo
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Long Live Animal Farm!
review By ragetan 25 Apr
tags: Wild Rice drama Drama Centre theatre
W!ld Rice seems unable to hit a wrong note these days,
following its award-winning Importance Of Being Earnest of
2009. Animal Farm, based on George Orwell's classic political
critique, continues this respected theatre company's stellar
record.
This is a solid piece of theatre, first and foremost. High
production values, a fantastic cast, tight direction and an
eloquent script come together for a memorable experience
that touches the audience intellectually and emotionally.
Reprising the physical theatre elements from an earlier
staging, the 2010 production of Animal Farm seems to have
perfected the recipe of animal movement and sounds that the
actors incorporate seamlessly throughout
28/4/2010 12:49 PM
Review | Long Live Animal Farm! | Fifo
2 of 5
http://www.fifo.sg/post/show/394
the running time. Chickens are evoked with a pointing of
elbows and bobbing of heads, and turn in a flash into
high-steppin' horses that trot and whinny. The seven cast
members play a gamut of roles (and species), with ingenious
ways of shifting from one character to another. Denise Tan,
who plays a domesticated bird (Mollie), a more adventurous
one (Moses) as well as a brief turn as a pigeon, captures the
"birdy-ness" of all the fowl while representing each one as
separate individuals: from the vain, pampered Mollie, to the
Filipino-accented pigeon. Tan conjured up the essence of each
creature with zest and panache. Gene Sha Rudyn also
captures two heavy roles impressively while maintaining the
distinctness of each. His Benjamin, an old and cynical donkey,
is as memorable as his Snowball, the charismatic revolutionary
pig.
The horses, Boxer (Ghani Abdul Karim) and Clover (Yeo
Yann Yann) are more sombre, tragic characters, and they are
brilliantly balanced out by a hyperactive Squealor (Pam Oei),
the right-hand pig to the Leader of Animal Farm, Napoleon
(Lim Yu-Beng). Oei's Squealor is a hilarious villain-clown that
implements the dastardly policies of Napoleon (like cutting
rations and extending working hours) with a blind zealor that
brings to mind the fundamentalists of today.
Indeed, the true allure of Animal Farm lies in its subtle,
not-so-subtle, and outrightly overt references to Singapore's
political system. Turning the slogan "Two Legs Bad, Four
Legs Good" into a public campaign (complete with flyers) was
one of the less subtle references. But while the references to
a society shifting away from agrarian production towards
industrialisation and commerce seem to place Animal Farm in
a particular Socialist context, the introduction of a George
Bush / APEC satire at the end really hit a current chord about
the state of world affairs today. That said, the production is
not so narrowly focussed, and the more universal themes of
power and corruption are clearly fleshed out.
The company seems to have drawn inspiration from its
successful pantomimes to borrow a few audience participation
tricks - which add to the colour and humour of the work.
All in all, this production is evidence that theatre old-timers
are able to mature, hone skills and grasp wisdom - all of which
benefit the audience and the larger arts scene.
28/4/2010 12:49 PM
Review | Long Live Animal Farm! | Fifo
3 of 5
http://www.fifo.sg/post/show/394
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28/4/2010 12:49 PM
Review | Long Live Animal Farm! | Fifo
5 of 5
http://www.fifo.sg/post/show/394
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28/4/2010 12:49 PM