Mirror Magazine

 

Animal Farm - On the boards in July
George Orwell's classic story Animal Farm comes to life when StageLight &Magic Inc., stages its latest production in July 2002. Animal Farm is considered a classic for its simple yet powerful storyline.

Animal Farm tells of a story where the Animals living in Mr. Jones' farm decide to end the misery they live in and stage a rebellion. They are spurred on by Old Major, a respectable stud boar and led onto victory by the three pigs, Snowball, Squealer and Napoleon. After the animals chase Mr. Jones and take over the farm, life continues to improve and the farm goes from strength to strength. The animals' misery ends and they live in happiness and contentment.

Unfortunately, this is short-lived as the pigs bicker for control of the farm. The bickering continues and eventually leads to a showdown. Napoleon emerges as the victor and chases Snowball away. Surrounded by fierce dogs, Napoleon exerts enormous control over the farm and eventually suppresses the animals to a far greater extent than Mr. Jones himself.

Animal Farm is not just a story about political manoeuvres, but also reminds us of the importance of being active participants in the democratic process. The pigs' manipulation of the rules of the farm and the constant use of terror tactics to silence opponents is something that is not new to the Sri Lankan public!

Animal Farm is brought to you by the same team that gave you last year's hit comedy "The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr". StageLight&Magic Inc., have to date staged five stage plays from "The Legend of Macbeth". "Julius Caesar - The Anatomy of An Assassination", "Widows", "The Accidental Death of an Anarchist" and "The Compleat wrks of Wllm Shkspr".

Notorious bard-buster Anuruddha Fernando plays the role of Boxer, the farm horse while Feroze Kamardeen is the artistic director of Animal Farm.

The production will see over 35 people on stage with a blend of experience and youth like Mohammed Adamally, Krishan Jayaratnam, Marissa Jansz, Shohan Chandiram and Aida Mansoor combining with Purajith Taldena, Kisholi de Mel, Shehara Jayasinghe, Ruhanie Perera, Aroshe Ranasinghe and Janice Hakel Ranasinghe to bring out the powerful emotions and youthful energy of Animal Farm.

Animal Farm promises to be a whole new experience with a live rock band on stage accompanied by percussionists like Ranjana Amaradeva and the Kreators. Neomal de Alwis will play the piano. One of Sri Lanka's hottest rock bands, Krebs' Cycle will be featured live on stage and the sound track of the play will have a definite rock beat!

The vocal direction is handled by Sanjeev Jayaratnam who also plays the role of Snowball. Shohan Chandiram who plays Benjamin the donkey is in charge of the choreography of the show. Thanuja Weeraratne and Jehan Bastians are in charge of the production.

StageLight&Magic Inc., is fortunate to have the support of organisations genuinely interested in supporting and encouraging local English theatre. Sinwa Shoes is the main sponsor for the production. Dialog GSM and the National Lotteries Board are the co-sponsors. The Electronic Media sponsor is YES FM while The Sunday Times is the official newspaper. The special Animal Farm slide show and equipment is by courtesy of Aquarius Audio-Visuals. Costumes and masks for the production are designed and produced for Animal Farm by Sonali White of the Haddai Label.

Animal Farm will be staged from July 4th to the 8th at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. Box plan and tickets will be at the Lionel Wendt.


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