Olivier winner Robert Icke, who made his Broadway directorial debut with a stage adaptation of George Owell's 1984, is now set to write and direct an adaptation of the author's Animal Farm. The staging will launch in the U.K. as a tour, with performances beginning in 2022.
The Children’s Theatre Partnership’s production features designs by Olivier winner Bunny Christie (Company) and puppetry by Toby Olié (Don Quixote). Icke and Christie previously collaborated on The Red Barn at London’s National Theatre. Venues, dates, casting, and additional creative team members are set to be announced later.
In a statement, Icke (who earned an Olivier in 2016 for Oresteia) said, “I could not be more excited to bring this important and timely story to a broad and diverse audience across the U.K., and work alongside two of the industry’s most talented artists: Bunny and Toby.”
Animal Farm was first published in 1945 and tells the story of the uprising of the animals of Manor Farm against their human, Farmer Jones, in the hope of creating a society where animals can be equal, free, and happy.A previous stage adaptation by Althos Low held its world premiere in 2014 at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
