A "Crackling" performance from Tell Tale Theatre

As we near the end of a wonderful year funding Community Theatre Tell Tale Theatre’s cast member Alex Clark has written a blog about the experience of bringing Animal Farm to a Liverpool audience.

"It was an unremarkable midsummer's night in Liverpool. The actors of Tell Tale Theatre Company were gathered for their usual Thursday evening meeting. During the week, word had gone round that the writer, Lawrence Wilson, had a dream to share. It was a vision of a glorious production of George Orwell's Animal Farm; a story of how the downtrodden could rise up, and change their world for the better. As he shared his story, the actors listened intently, and when he was gone, they set to work.

The actors were led by two remarkable creatures named Emma and Leanne, who were determined to see the dream come to life. The actors worked hard under their guidance over many months. Their talents were varied; their commitment unquestionable. All were working day-jobs and asked for no reward in helping make the vision a reality. They did it not for material gain, but for the sheer love of theatre, and the opportunity to share a wonderful story with the world.Whilst on Animal Farm the dream faded fast, turning instead into a terrible nightmare, on Tell Tale Farm things could not have gone more differently. Where Orwell's animals suffered from their leaders' infighting, and found themselves in as bad a situation as they had been under the old order, here things were much better. All of the actors were encouraged to contribute their ideas to the production, and their roles were handed out according to ability rather than privilege. 

Under the benevolent leadership of Emma and Leanne, and with the assistance of budding young designers and stage managers from Liverpool Insitute of Performing Arts (as well as the always reliable support of their semi-retired set-builders, John and John) things soon took shape. When production week arrived, all were eager to share what they had created with the world.And so, on opening night, when the lights came up, the audience were treated to a spectacle of vivid animalistic drama, with professional lighting, live music and sound, and a beautiful backdrop that made it all the more believable. And, though life on Animal Farm was fraught with fear, the actors were not, and for four nights they told a cautionary tale of what can happen when those in power bully the weak into submission, and supplant a vision of hope with their own nefarious dream of dominance.

For the long-suffering creatures of Animal Farm, the story may not have had a happy ending, but that wasn't going let Tell Tale Farm give up hope. And so, when the show was over, they took to the road, sharing the story with the students of three nearby schools, so that the next generation might be inspired to have their own glorious dreams, to share them, and to see them brought to reality!

(Many thanks to the BBC Performing Arts Fund, it wouldn't have been the same without your support!)"