After a long time, the audience at the Hungarian Theater of Cluj will be able to attend a premiere again. In the Main Hall on May 21, at 7 p.m., a musical adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm will be presented.
The production was staged by Zoltán Puskás, the director from Vojvodina who previously staged the highly successful performances of The Wizard of Oz and The Jungle Book at the same theater. It will be the world premiere of this version of Animal Farm, adapted for the stage by Róbert Lénárd and with music composed by Ervin Erős and Dávid Klemm.
The director said he chose this piece because he wanted to work with a play that reflects the situation today: “For Orwell, the wording [that arouses] fear is the most important (…) This is what I also wished to express in the performance. The political tools have not changed a lot; there are many similarities in the play inspired from the text written by George Orwell and by the current pandemic situation.” At the same time, Puskás noted that he prefers to use ironic humor in his plays, taken from lifelike situations. Composer Ervin Erős said that he combined the genres of a musical and rock opera. “It is a tougher play from the musical point of view. Instrumentally, we had to bring in the atmosphere of the rebellion, but where the storyline required it, we turned to a softer sound as well.”
Costume designer Andrea Ledenják tried to create costumes for the animals with refined references, following classic patterns, but also tried to make outfits the actors could easily move in for the intense choreography of Melinda Jakab.
Featured photo: huntheater.ro
