A horse stands in the rain

ANIMAL FARM

Tue 8 - Sat 12 February 2022
Tickets £20 - £40*

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A Children's Theatre Partnership production in association with Birmingham Rep

The animals of Manor Farm drive out the farmer and run the farm themselves. A revolution. And then what? Then freedom. Every animal will be free. Old Major, the prize boar, calls the animals of Manor Farm together. He has had a strange dream of a better future.

George Orwell’s world-famous fable tells the story of a revolution and its aftermath. Re-imagined by an award-winning creative team, Animal Farm is a dynamic, daring and contemporary take on a timeless story.

Animal Farm is directed by Robert Icke, whose version of 1984 (coadapted and directed with Duncan Macmillan) was a smash-hit in the West End and on Broadway. This brand new production features puppetry by Toby Olié (whose credits include War Horse, Running Wild and Goodnight Mister Tom) and is designed by four time Olivier award-winner Bunny Christie.

Looking to bring a school group? Take a look at the education resource pack here.

Please click here to read our updated COVID guidelines ahead of your visit.

Pre-show talks (booking essential on 01223 503333)
with leading creatives involved in the production of Animal Farm
Running Time

Approx. 90 minutes with no interval

General Guidance

Contains strong language, violence, smoke, haze, loud sound effects and gun shot

Age Guidance

11+

Tickets

Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm
Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 2.30pm:
£25/£35/£45*
Students: £20*

*All ticket prices include a £3 per ticket booking fee

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Robert Icke (Director and Adaptor)

Robert Icke is a writer and director. His recent productions include Children of Nora and Oedipus at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, where he is Ibsen Artist in Residence, and where his new production Judas will open in 2022. Other credits include Enemy Of The People (Park Avenue Armory); Ivanov (Schauspiel Stuttgart); and The Doctor (Adelaide Festival/Almeida, West End in 2022).

His work while Associate Director at the Almeida (until 2019) included adapting and directing The Wild Duck; Mary Stuart (also Duke Of York’s Theatre/UK Tour); Uncle Vanya; Oresteia (also Trafalgar Studios; Laurence Olivier Award) and 1984 (co-created with Duncan Macmillan, also Hudson Theatre, New York, Playhouse Theatre, UK and International Tours). As a director, his productions included Hamlet (also Harold Pinter Theatre and screened on BBC2), The Fever and Mr Burns.

Bunny Christie (Set and Costume Designer)

Bunny Chrstie's theatre credits include many productions for the National Theatre, most recently creating After Life which re-opened The Dorfman Theatre, and including the multi award-winning production of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time (also Apollo Theatre/Gielgud Theatre/Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York/UK and Worldwide Tour; Olivier and Tony Awards for Best Set Design); People Places And Things (Wyndham’s Theatre, St Ann’s Warehouse New York/Touring); Husbands And Sons (National Theatre/Royal Exchange Manchester); The Red Barn (National Theatre; Evening Standard Best Design Award); The White Guard and A Streetcar Named Desire (National Theatre; Olivier Awards for both).

Other recent theatre includes Company (Gielgud Theatre/Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, New York; Olivier Award for Best Set Design); A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Bridge Theatre); The Wild Duck, Ink (Almeida Theatre/Duke Of York’s Theatre/Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, New York; Evening Standard Best Design Award and Tony Award nomination); Made In Dagenham (Adelphi Theatre); If You Kiss Me, Kiss Me (Young Vic); The Vagina Monologues (The Royal Albert Hall/Arts Theatre), and the all-female Henry IV and Julius Caesar (Donmar Warehouse/St Ann’s Warehouse, New York).

Bunny’s opera work includes Tosca and the world premiere of André Previn’s Brief Encounter (Houston Grand Opera) and Medea (ENO/Geneva Grand Opera).

Her film credits include Swansong with John Gielgud (nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film).

Toby Olié (Puppet Designer and Director)

Toby Olié is a director, designer and puppeteer. He is also co-artistic director of Gyre & Gimble, a theatre company specialising in puppetry.

Work as director includes: The Wolves in the Walls (Little Angel Theatre/Bristol Old Vic), Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons: A Reimagining (Shakespeare’s Globe); The Hartlepool Monkey (Gyre & Gimble UK tour); The Elephantom (National Theatre/New London Theatre) and associate puppetry director of War Horse (Gillian Lynne Theatre).

Work as puppetry designer/director includes: Pinocchio, Peter Pan, The Light Princess, My Brilliant Friend and Hansel & Gretel (National Theatre), Don Quixote (Royal Shakespeare Company/Garrick Theatre); Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Royal Ballet); The Wind in the Willows (Royal Opera House/Duchess Theatre), Disney’s new staging of The Little Mermaid (in Holland, Moscow & Tokyo); The Grinning Man (Bristol Old Vic/Trafalgar Studios), Running Wild (Chichester Festival Theatre/Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre/UK tour), A Christmas Carol, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Firework-Maker’s Daughter and Peter Pan (Chichester Festival Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (Manchester Royal Exchange), The Secret Garden (Sarasota Ballet) and Goodnight Mister Tom (Duke Of York’s Theatre/UK tour).

Work as a puppeteer onstage includes: War Horse (National Theatre/Gillian Lynne Theatre); Venus and Adonis (Royal Shakespeare Company); Hospitalworks (Theatre-Rites) and Angelo (Little Angel Theatre), and on screen: National Theatre: 50 Years on Stage (BBC One); The Homeless Polar Bear (Greenpeace campaign film) and Mongrels (BBC Three).

Gallery

  • Boxer and Clover. Photography by Manuel Harlan
  • Boxer. Photography by Manuel Harlan
  • Boxer and Clover. Photography by Manuel Harlan
  • Hens. Photography by Manuel Harlan
  • Napoleon. Photography by Manuel Harlan
  • Napoleon. Photography by Manuel Harlan
  • Snowball and Napoleon. Photography by Manuel Harlan
  • Squeela. Photography by Manuel Harlan
  • The Cast of Animal Farm
  • The Cast of Animal Farm

Videos

Trailer

Audience Feedback

  • 'Animal Farm is one of the must-see plays for 2022.'

    Reviews Hub
  • 'A piece of theatrical magic. This is immersive theatre at its very best.'

    Black Country Radio
  • 'And this is why the arts should be cherished. This play is a must watch.'

    Birmingham Mail