Bloomshed will bring their riotous adaptation of Animal Farm to Arts Centre Melbourne's Fairfax Studio this August.
The Green Room award-winning theatre company has built a reputation for turning classic texts into high-energy spectacles, and their take on George Orwell’s famous fable keeps that streak alive. Bloomshed’s Animal Farm transplants the story from its original English setting to rural Australia, where the farm animals have torn up a contract with the government and the messy realities of the political system start to unravel. Expect dance breaks, physical comedy and a whole lot of confetti.
The production centres on a small outback farm where the animals have had enough and are ready to seize the means of production. Leading the charge is Napoleon, a pig with plenty of ambition and zero qualms about cracking a few eggs along the way. It’s part rebellion, part roast of Australian politics, and entirely unsubtle in the best possible way.
Animal Farm
- 12 – 22 August
- Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne
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Since launching in 2012, Bloomshed have created 15 new devised and adapted works including Pride & Prejudice and Paradise Lost. The company is built on shared authorship and collective vision, blending high art with cheap thrills to tackle issues like corporate greed, climate change and class inequity.
Their adaptation asks what happens when you map the themes of Orwell’s original — greed, corruption, ambition — onto Australian history and larrikinism. The result is a satirical, politically charged rework that aims to leave audiences feeling ready to storm the barricades, or at least have a good laugh about the state of things.
Creative director James Jackson leads the production, which mixes accessible storytelling with Bloomshed’s signature irreverence. The company has previously picked up Green Room awards for their work, cementing them as one of Melbourne’s sharpest independent theatre outfits.
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