A Timely Portrayal of a Classic

Scholastica's senior students of the Senior Campus Uttara showcased Animal Farm through a Bangla lens at their annual production on October 27-28, 2016. Put together by 9-12th grade students of the music, dance and drama clubs, the performance showed how George Orwell's masterpiece is still relevant today. 

Brig. Gen. Kaiser Ahmed (Retd.), Principal, welcomed the audience and shared the intent behind the concept. "Orwell's portrayal of social injustice is a timeless phenomenon, and very prevalent today. Through this performance, our students will break through the prejudice that English medium students are disconnected from Bangla language and culture," he stated to cheers from his students. 

The show opened with the bleating, neighing and clucking of Mr. Jones' farm animals dancing in the joy of their equality. Familiar scenes from the novel followed as they rose in the revolution known as the Battle of the Cowshed. "Shobai bhai bhai! Shob jontu shoman!" they chanted. Dancing in revelry, they sang a song titled Bidroho and fiercely chased their employers right through the audience, down the aisle and out the back exit of the STM Hall auditorium. 

"We perfected our performance right until two days before the show," shared 12th grader Rynel Hasan, one of the singers. "Two of our classmates composed three songs and the third song was a Warfaze track. Each vocalist had to be individually assessed," he said. 

The animals scrawled up the commandments to the choruses of "England Ireland er poshu", with Snowball and Napoleon perched up on a higher platform than others, as if in foreshadowing of what was to come. Sure enough, conflicts materialised as the pigs' ideals began to deviate from the revolution's mantra - from sleeping in beds to drinking alcohol – until a new ideal was reached: All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. The audience watched in awe; some even jumped in alarm as Mr. Jones and other characters advanced stealthily through the audience and roared unexpectedly. The show ended with Napoleon celebrating with the humans as the animals stood trapped in a tiny cage.

Despite being long, the play held our attention in its clean structure and timely use of songs and dance numbers. Mare Mollie narrated the farm's miseries, and paused just when we wanted to know more, leaving us in suspense. Vivid lighting, dance sequences choreographed by Shahinoor Akhter with music by Gazi Munnaf and an authentic-looking set designed by Fareha Zeba made it a visual treat. The actors did an excellent job as both humans and animals, right down to the quivering ears of the horses. 

Director and drama teacher Kazi Toufikul Islam Emon explained the process that went behind the production. "Every year, we struggle to find a script that is appropriate for all students. I thought of choosing Animal Farm because it would be interesting for senior students to work with elements of world politics, and the fight between antagonists versus protagonists." 

Actress Suborna Mustafa and eminent theatre personality Ramendu Majumdar graced the event on each day as chief guests. Majumdar lauded the impressive performance, adding that, "Culture can combat terrorism, and the responsibility to promote that falls onto educational institutes. I hope to see more of this kind of endeavour in other events." 

Nearly a decade ago, Scholastica taught me to understand the brilliance of Animal Farm in Grade 7. It was amazing to experience that again, this time as a visitor.