Review: Animal Farm
Posted:
9 Mar 2010
Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre Mar 5-7
Although it’s debatable whether George Orwell would have appreciated its flamboyance and humour, Singaporean theatre company W!LD RICE’s Animal Farm stays remarkably faithful in spirit to the original political satire about a totalitarian dictatorship ruining a Utopian society of animals – despite some moments of pure slapstick.
Take, for instance, the scene where Napoleon the pig fights off his erstwhile master, Mr Jones. With the classic anthem of Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung as a backing track, the future villain of the piece (portrayed by Singaporean actor Lim Yu Beng) unleashes several kung fu moves to slay Jones. It’s a cute pop culture reference meant to elicit laughter while adding a touch of local flavour to the story.
The show has a simple setup – a fake brick wall here, a few pillars there – but the draw is in the performances. Six main cast members successfully tackle the task of portraying a bunch of farm animals with body gestures alone, while musician Jenson Koh hits a timely cymbal to add impact at crucial moments.
Of the ensemble cast, Pam Oei stands out as Squealer, Napoleon’s right-hand pig. As the spokesperson for the corrupt “government”, Squealer presents one pious deception after another to bamboozle the other farm citizens; and Oei portrays the slimey politician with just the right level of smarm.
The original novel resonated because what seemed like a story about talking animals was really a biting satire on society, government and human nature. And in our modern world, where we question the moves and motives of our leaders on a daily basis, it still hits home.
All jokes and pop culture references aside – one scene sees the (tacky) Baha Men song Who Let the Dogs Out? blare through the speakers as Napoleon sends hounds after fellow pig Snowball – this production does Orwell’s much-loved fable proud.
Ben Sin
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