In the pantheon of genius writers, George Orwell was more equal than most. His novella Animal Farm, a biting satire on Stalinist power creep, was roundly condemned in its time by naïve stalwarts of the old Left who thought that Uncle Joe was doing a great job (my own father was one of them). Now Orwell’s powerful fable is coming to the Arts in a new production written and directed by the esteemed Robert Icke. Putting a barnyard full of argumentative animals on stage is no mean feat. This production will use life-size puppets – over thirty of them – to tell the story of liberated livestock who overthrow the yoke of the farmer to run the whole shebang themselves. Power to the People - for which read pigs, sheep, cattle and horses. The herd looks forward to a democratic future and a happy society where all are equal – oh yeh?

Looking at the pre-production pics, the show has a distinct War Horse feel – not surprising as the puppetry is courtesy of Toby Olié who originally performed as ‘Joey the Horse’ in the original West End production of War Horse and has since founded his own puppetry focused theatre company, Gyre and Gimble. They have produced puppets for shows including Peter Pan and Hansel and Gretel at the National and the new musical The Grinning Man (Bristol Old Vic).

With its surface gloss as a nice morality tale for kids (aged 11 and over) but the deeper Orwellian insights into the nature of power and its corrupting influence, the whole family should be in for a real treat. Two legs OK, Four legs even better.

Cambridge Arts Theatre, 6 St Edward’s Passage, Cambridge, CB2 3PJ

Dates: Tuesday 8 – Saturday 12 February

Tuesday – Saturday 7.30pm &

Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday, 2.30pm

£25/£35/£45*

Child/ Student: £20*

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

Pre-show talk: Tuesday 8 February, 6.30pm

Age guidance: 11+ (Contains strong language)

Box Office: 01223 503333 / www.cambridgeartstheatre.com