The much-anticipated brand new production of George Orwell’s Animal Farm will receive its world premiere at Birmingham Rep prior to a national tour.

Presented by The Children’s Theatre Partnership and Birmingham Rep, ANIMAL FARM, Orwell’s world-famous, biting political novel was first published in 1945 and tells the story of a revolution and its aftermath.

Re-imagined by an award-winning creative team, Animal Farm is a dynamic, daring and contemporary take on a timeless story.

This brand-new production is directed and adapted by the multi award-winning Robert Icke (The Doctor, Hamlet, Mary Stuart, Oresteia). Icke previously worked on another of Orwell’s classics, 1984, which he co-adapted and directed alongside Duncan Macmillan, garnering him his first Olivier Award nomination for Best New Play in 2014, enjoying smash-hit runs in both the West End and on Broadway.

The production also combines the forces of some of UK theatre’s most talented creatives, including designs by the four-time Olivier Award-winning Bunny Christie (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Company, Ink, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), and puppetry by Toby Olié (War Horse, Running Wild, The Grinning Man, Goodnight Mister Tom).

The cast of Animal Farm includes Matt Churcher, Darcy Collins, Enrico D. Wey, Ailsa Dalling, Elisa De Grey, Edie Edmundson, Michael Jean-Marain, Rayo Patel, Yana Penrose, Markus Schabbing, Sharon Sze, Ben Thompson and Matt Tait. The production is produced by Children’s Theatre Partnership (CTP) in association with Birmingham Rep. CTP creates bold and imaginative theatre for young people, engaging new audiences and aiming to inspire a life-long love of theatre.

Animal farm runs at The Rep from Saturday 22 January – Saturday 5 February 2022. In line with current Government regulations, The Rep is now open to full capacity, but continues to take a number of carefully managed steps and precautions to help audiences feel safe and enjoy their chosen performance.

The wearing of masks is mandatory throughout the building and additional cleaning will continue.