Adelaide hasn’t seen this production of Animal Farm since Guy Masterson did it about 12 or 13 years ago. We heard that Guy had decided not to carry on with this extremely athletic show, but was handing over to Sam Blythe. “Big shoes to fill” muttered general opinion.
Yes, Guy’s performance was amazing.
But Sam Blythe needn’t worry about filling anyone else’s shoes – he’s brought his own, thank you very much, and what a performance he gives! I think that most of the audience would have been familiar with Orwell’s book, but if not, the story was wonderfully told in all its witty, tragic, terrifying and inexorable way.
Blythe’s ability to transform himself from one animal to the next (with the occasional human thrown in) simply by his facial expression, stance and voice, was like a masterclass in acting. The audience was riveted to their seats, carried along by the power of both the story and the performance, until the final chilling appearance of the pig Napoleon on two legs with bowler hat and cane.
The venue (Main Theatre at Adelaide College of the Arts) suited the production well.
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