Banned Animal Farm show takes to stage in Holmfirth

Apr 29 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE show they banned finally goes on in Holmfirth this week.

And it means a triumph for the actors and backstage staff who had to wait six months for the chance to show their talents.

Turn Again Theatre will stage a special musical stage adaptation of George Orwell’s dramatic 1945 novel Animal Farm at the civic hall.

It opens tomorrow and runs until Saturday, at 7.30pm – six months after the company were refused permission to stage the show.

Samuel French Ltd, the firm which leases the play, were forced to refuse permission for the group because of a professional run in Leeds which has now finished.

Publicity officer Jack Dunnill said: “The show is really a tribute to the dedication of director Linda Williams.

“After the cancellation blow last October many people would have abandoned the project but she was determined it would go on eventually.

“It has not been easy for the cast – a good blend of experienced actors and youngsters – either to maintain enthusiasm, but now all creatures great and small are completing six months of rehearsals to make sure the show is a memorable one.”

Orwell’s famous play is a satire on Soviet totalitarianism in which the animals, led by Napoleon and his fellow pigs, play the roles of the Bolshevik revolutionaries and overthrow the human owners of the farm.