Body of Work

ORWELL'S ANIMAL FARM
A LIVELY POLITICAL SATIRE
(excerpt)
March 21, 2004, Barbara Bannon, The Salt Lake Tribune

Whatever the good intentions of political movements, power corrupts, and the strong will always exploit the weak.  This message emerges more relevant than ever from Plan-B Theatre Company’s intelligent and dramatically intense production of "Animal Farm."  Orwell’s book, adapted into a play by Nelson Bond, is an Aesop-like fable with a darkly satirical underside.

Bond’s adaptation poses a major theatrical problem: It’s essentially a narrative, which makes it static and potentially talky and flat. Experienced actors and dynamic performances must make it work, and Plan-B’s ensemble cast [Teresa Sanderson, Colleen Baum, Jayne Luke, Cheryl Ann Cluff, and Kirt Bateman] more than meets the challenge.  Director Jerry Rapier has squeezed every ounce of theatricality from the text and orchestrates the dramatic and poignant moments with equal finesse.

"Animal Farm" opened on the first anniversary of the Iraq War. Whatever your political views, it’s clear that repression and political opportunism are still powerful realities in our world.