Rehearsal for 'Animal Farm'. - Contributed
ONCE AGAIN French/ Jamaican director, Pierre Lemaire, is directing a non-traditional play at the Edna Manley College, School of Drama.
Lemaire, who has been teaching at the School of Drama from 1979, has in the last three years staged with his student actors, A Carol for Moneybags, by Barbara Gloudon; No Exit by Jean Paul Sartre; and Antigone by Jean Anouilh. His productions are always unconventional the Greek tragedy Antigone was set in the Caribbean in the 21st century; his version of No Exit was extremely colourful, and his Moneybags had 'duppies' coming from the roof of the theatre. What does he have in store for us this time?
"Animal Farm," says Lemaire, "is a political fable, which is in the high school literature programme in Jamaica, and since my younger son was studying it, I decided to read it again, and I was amazed how actual this book is.
"After the fall of the Berlin Wall, one could think that Animal Farm had become irrelevant, but Orwell does not restrict his plot to a specific country and a specific time. By using the form of a fable, he makes the story timeless, warning us about politicians hypocritically suppressing the freedom people fought for. Orwell warns us against being fooled by political propaganda which can distort the truth to make us accept relinquishing our freedom. He shows us how fear can be used as a strategy to make citizens accept the unacceptable, and it is frightening to realise that listening to Squealer's speeches in the play, one could easily think that they are coming from a cable news network."
This particular stage version of Animal Farm is a modern adaptation, written by English director, Peter Hall, and it comprises numerous songs, which were re-arranged for this production by musical director, Cecile Strudwick-Greene, a lecturer at the School of Music. The set is designed by Ron Stieger who created beautiful sets for Lemaire's last three productions; and M'Balla is designing the masks for the animals.
"I firmly believe, says Lemaire, that the Edna Manley College is one of the most creative places in the English-speaking Caribbean, where we have the largest number of artists per square foot. That's why in this production, I not only collaborated with tutors from the schools of Music and Visual Arts, but also included students from the schools of Dance and Music in our cast.
The director assures us that once again the audience should be able to enjoy a different type of theatre, serious in content and fun in the form.
The high school students working on this text are extremely lucky this year, because they will have the opportunity to see the text coming alive on stage.
This production will take place at the School of Drama of the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts. It will open on Thursday, November 10, and will be playing for two weekends.
Schools may contact the Edna Manley College to arrange special matinee performances for groups.
