[THEATRE REVIEW] ANIMAL FARM @ Monash University Review (2026)
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
MUST gives us a searing representation thereof with its production of George Orwell’s dystopian drama Animal Farm, adapted for a contemporary audience by Tatty Hennessy.
Orwell’s work was first published in 1945 and Hennessy was commissioned to adapt it in 2021, with its first professional production only last year.
Given the current instability in the world, its saliency certainly isn’t lost on me.
A 14-strong cast gives the animals who seize control of Manor Farm in the UK significant heft through narrative, song and dance.
And so to the story:
Worked to the bone, the animals on Farmer Jones’ property are increasingly unhappy.
With not enough food and worked to the bone, they feel exploited and regard Farmer Jones as a tyrant.
So it is that prize-winning boar Old Major encourages them to stand up for themselves and revolt.
Upon his execution death, they do exactly that, driving Farmer Jones from his farm, intent on looking after it and doing better without him.
With Snowball, the pig, taking charge, the animals adopt seven commandments:
1. Anyone who walks on two legs is an enemy.
2. Anyone who walks on four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.
But things quickly go awry and the animals soon realise they have their work cut out for them.
Factions form and the plotting begins, with no shortage of casualties along the way.
By now, another porker, Napoleon, is in the box seat and he is not afraid to use violence and fear to cement his autocracy.
As times get even tougher and the situation reaches crisis point, many of those seven commandments are severely compromised.
Nirvana this most certainly isn’t, as authoritarian rule prevails.
Overall, the cast does a fine job enabling the chilling truth in the tale to take hold and fester.
The tone is set at the outset by the newsreader Dr. Felix Nobis.
It is quickly seized upon by Old Major, as realised by Lucy Fraser, who could afford to drop her delivery back a tad.
I always look for authenticity in performances and a number of actors stood out to me for their naturalism on stage.
In quite a complex role, Jada-Li Crossey is outstanding as horse Clover, trying hard to navigate the vicissitudes of the shifting sands on the farm.
With a lilt in her step and a beautiful singing voice, Francesca King is a revelation as Milo the pigeon, who provides comic relief, and propagandist pig Minimus.
Also in lock step with his can-do part as the big thinking pig Snowball is Patrick Leong.
Esmé Stripp revels in her conceit as the power-hungry, tyrannical boar Napoleon.
With a glint in his eyes, Will Beechey brings rat cunning to manipulative pig Squealer.
Thimuthu Dassanayake plays an increasingly bolshie role as Napoleon’s muscle, the gun-toting pig Nutmeg.
I could feel the grunt in Nethuli Bandara’s devoted, workaholic portrayal of cart-horse Boxer.
With only a handful of simple props, they and the other artistes add gravitas to a cracking script.
I must compliment Eleanor Cooney for her dramaturgy and Max Pickering for his tight direction.
I welcomed the dramatic and, on occasions, jaunty sound design and composition by Alex Aidt and Caitlin Begg’s neatly controlled lighting design.
Sachiko Metzner’s costume choices resonate, while the impact of Esmé Stripp’s make-up and hair design should not be underestimated.
MUST’s production gives Animal Farm the clout that it richly deserves, as the pall of unchecked authority envelopes rural England.
Two hours, including interval, it is on at Monash University until 23rd May, 2026.
Review by Alex First Photography by Elena Ruefenacht