As part of its 20th anniversary season, British Youth Music Theatre (BYMT) in partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome presents: Animal Farm.

This classic George Orwell novella is far from the obvious choice of texts to be adapted into a musical. Animal Farm, first published in 1945, is a satirical take on the Bolshevik revolution of Russia and the politics of Joseph Stalin – examining themes of power, corruption and equality, posing important questions about how we view certain socio-political ideals, all shown through a group of anthropomorphic farmyard animals. 

But BYMT have taken the 80-year old story and brought it into the 21st-century, with a fresh take that combines the dystopian fairytale with contemporary pop and musical theatre. Although we are far from the days of Stalin and the Russian Revolution, we face a whole new host of complex social and political issues in our modern society; this is the world of fake news, party-gate, cancel culture and the curtailing of free speech. And even without all those specific one-to-one parallels, the core premise of the story remains as relevant as ever, asking the age-old question: what is the right way to run a society?

Written and directed by Ellie Jones (How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found, Macbeth (RSC)), composed by Rebecca Levy (debut album How to Keep Your Girlfriend 101), with lyrics by Tom Ling (The Little Big Things, Techies: The Musical) and choreography by Bradley Charles, the creative team behind this production is a tour de force, completely reimagining Orwell’s work into something new.

Ellie Jones’s script is a fun and breezy take on Orwell’s original story, making the bleaker, more emotional moments all the more impactful (especially when performed by the company’s young cast). Who better to ask the question, “what role in this [society] do we want to play than the next generation?” said Jones – and this rings true throughout the whole piece. The constant disconnect (and, at times, discomfort) in seeing this group of young people act out the grim realities of our world.

The combination of Rebecca Levy’s music and Tom Ling’s lyrics makes for a really entertaining addition to the story, with a number of great songs that range from rocking rebel anthems to heartfelt odes to loved ones (not to mention a gospel number led by a group of pigeons!). I particularly enjoyed the musical aspect of this show, and would love to see these two creatives collaborate again in the future.

Animal Farm features a cast of 34 young people, including local Midlands talent, bringing this ‘twisted tail’ to life. There is a lot of talent within this ensemble and the performers throw themselves into the show and all of its challenges. The themes and message of this story are a little more complex and nuanced than your average musical theatre show, but these youngsters (along with Jones’ book) manage to make all of the ideas palatable and easy to follow for their audience — something which could be a challenge for many adult stage actors!

There are some great standout performances from the cast, particularly vocally, and I’m certain they all have very bright futures ahead of them should they choose to continue along this  path.

Animal Farm is an interesting and entertaining take on the original Orwell novel, asking some poignant questions, supplying some great new musical jams, and, perhaps most importantly, providing a platform for this group of talented young performers.

BYMT’s Animal Farm plays at the Birmingham Hippodrome until Sun 7 April. Purchase your tickets here!

The company will be returning to the venue in the summer with another original project, Unbound (16-18 August).

Review by Liam Tipper

Disclaimer: The reviewer was gifted two complimentary tickets to the performance.