Friday, July 23

Elton John writing Animal Farm Musical

Elton John and Lee Hall wrote Billy Elliott the Musical which is currently playing at the Victoria Palace Theatre. They are now planning on getting together again to write a new musical based on George Orwell's 1945 novella Animal Farm.

Lee Hall has said that Animal Farm is “perfectly suited for the stage” and that he is "I'm deep into it, writing songs for pigs and other four-legged friends."

It has taken almost two years to secure the rights to bring the production to the stage. The CIA once controlled the animated screen rights which enabled them to make a film pointing out the dangers of Stalinism and communism! There is no news yet on a potential producer but it is early days as it expected that it will be a couple of years before it’s ready.

George Orwell's famous story is about a piglet called Napoleon who destroys his rival and rides roughshod over other opponents in his bid to control the old Manor Farm.

Using a group of pigs (Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer and Old Major) the novel cleverly portrays corrupt leadership as the flaw in revolution and shows how ignorance and indifference to problems within a revolution allows horrors to happen if the smooth transition to a people's government does not happen.  And all this set to music!

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