George Orwell - Animal Farm

GEORGE ORWELL - ANIMAL FARM (320kbs-m4a/200mb/1hr27mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 24th August 2025

George Orwell described his short novel as a fairy story, but it's a satire on the Soviet Communist system.

But 'Animal Farm' still reads as a powerful warning despite all the changes in world politics since it was first published in 1945.

Of course, there is no real George Orwell - it was the pen name of Eric Blair - a writer and political commentator.

Ever since his early death in 1950, he has been the darling of some on both the left and the right of British politics - whilst being reviled by others.

For all the beautiful simplicity of his writing and storytelling Orwell/Blair is a contradictory figure - an anti-establishment, pro-English, ex-Etonian ex-policeman and socialist, who was ardently anti-authoritarian. He was as anti-fascist as he was anti-communist, a former Spanish Civil War soldier who was anti-war but pro the Second World War.

The author dramatised his own novel

One night, on an English farm, Major the boar recounts his vision of an utopia where his fellow creatures own the land along with the means of production and are no longer the slaves of humans.

Before long, his dream comes true and for a short while all animals really are equal. But the clever pigs educate themselves and soon learn how to extend their own power, inevitably at the expense of the rest of the community.

Narrated by Tamsin Greig.

Napoleon .....Nicky Henson
Squealer ..... Toby Jones
Snowball ..... Patrick Brennan
Boxer ..... Ralph Ineson
Clover ..... Liza Sadovy
Major ..... Robert Blythe
Benjamin ..... Paul Stonehouse
Muriel ..... Sarah Thom
Mollie ..... Lizzy Watts

With:

Eleanor Crooks
Ben Crowe
Will Howard
Gerard McDermott
Adam Nagaitis
Stephanie Racine

Musical Director: Neil Brand

Director Alison Hindell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2013.