Ans: The play is more or less similar to the play, but only some parts are included or edited, for example, the song, Beasts of England, was edited to Beasts of this Land and at the end of the play, it showed a press conference being held.
Q2) Which character that you think is most effective on stage?
Ans: I think the character that is most effective on stage is Squealer. Squealer, in the play, speaks eloquently, capable of twisting lies into facts but persuasive enough to convince the other animals to believe in Napoleon, although he is not right. His ability to deliver speeches so confidently and convincingly makes him the most effective on stage.
Q3) Write a review on the animal farm play
Ans: Based on George Orwell's book, Animal Farm, the play was carried out with similar ideas with the book, only with a few scenes included and edited. As the play started, it began with different people of different occupations, for example, nurse and policeman. They began to strip and the play began to make more sense. It showed what George Orwell had written, from Jones being booted out of the farm to Snowball being chased out of the farm and to Napoleon having full control of the farm. Everything was about the same with the book. However, the book was able to deliver the character of the animals respectively. Take Squealer as an example. The director was able to show the persuasive mouth of Squealer, as depicted in the book. The play was in a few parts humorous, taking the scene where the animals fought Jones as an example. The director played kungfu music and that caused it to be humorous. In a nutshell, this play is similar to the book but does not become too boring with some humorous scenes in it.
LIFE REVIEW
Life!
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Apr 26, 2010
Creature comforts
Strong ensemble performances make you laugh and cry
By adeline chia
Animal Farm may suffer from an inconsistency of tone, but the cast's energy and conviction lift the play. --PHOTO: ALBERT LIM KS
review theatre
ANIMAL FARM
Wild Rice
Drama Centre Theatre, Last Saturday
Great ensemble performances characterise this production of George Orwell's political allegory and the cast's energy and conviction lift it.
Whether handsomely trotting around as horses, strutting about as self- important porcine rulers or darting about as distressed chickens, the actors display tremendous vitality and honesty in performances that should appeal to both adults and children.
Special mention goes to the statuesque Gani Abdul Karim, who shone as the doomed boar, Old Major, and later the unquestioning workhorse, Boxer.
Yet, despite the hardworking and athletic acting talents, there is something unsatisfactory and hollow about this production which has won standing ovations at the Hong Kong Arts Festival, where it was last performed, and good reviews during its initial run in 2002 in Singapore.
There is no denying that this is a slick and entertaining production with resonant themes.
Through various interventions, including mentions of air-conditioning and an unmistakeably imperious and 'R'-rolling accent of alpha pig Napoleon (played by Lim Yu-Beng of the sculpted body), we are sure that this is definitely a Singapore Farm as well.
Under Ivan Heng's direction, the farcical and comical aspects of the script by Ian Wooldridge emerge.
The spin doctor antics of Squealer the pig (an irrepressible Pam Oei), who spontaneously modified the Animalism's seven commandments, playfully underscore the ludicrous ways those in power bend rules.
There are some beautiful and intelligent scenes - including the construction process of the windmill using collapsible air-conditioner ducts, and Boxer's heartbreaking departure - that show Heng's clever use of props in carefully calibrated scenes.
Look out also for a well-judged ending involving Clover (a mare played by Yeo Yann Yann with tragic nobility), which may raise a few sniffles.
But the problem is inconsistency of tone. The play is an indecisive mixture of parody, slapstick, glib political jibes and pathos, whose styles are so at odds that they end up diluting one another.
The darker elements, especially, are toned down.
Little of the true grotesquerie of the unfolding plot - increasing exploitation and cruelty, pigs drinking alcohol and wearing clothes - is sufficiently plumbed. When Napoleon stumbles on stage clutching a bottle and a karaoke microphone, he elicits giggles, not horror.
Still, the many laughs along the way make this barnyard drama a smooth ride - a little too glitchless for my liking but a solid production to open Wild Rice's 10th-anniversary celebrations.
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