Animal Farm: As Witnessed By Moses The Raven – Barons Court Theatre, London

A masterful storytelling performance as Dov Citron takes on George Orwell’s classic in Animal Farm: As Witnessed by Moses the Raven.

Animal Farm: As Witnessed by Moses the Raven

“I’m exhausted”, said Dov Citron after the curtain call. I’m not surprised. Animal Farm: As Witnessed by Moses the Raven, which Citron writes and performs, is a short, very high energy work. In just over an hour, Citron recounts (almost) all the events of the original story, from the point of view of Moses the Raven. Or that’s at least the intention – more on this soon.

For those in need of a refresher, Animal Farm is a novella by George Orwell, first published in 1945. A satirical allegory, the novella tells the story of mistreated farm animals who rebel against their masters. They create a system in which, famously, “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Orwell was a bit of a trendsetter: he wrote Animal Farm, whose allegorical target is the Russian Revolution through to the Stalinist period, when Stalin was a WWII ally. As the Second World War gave way to the Cold War, the little novella, with its memorable animal characters, became an instant classic and mainstay of English literature curricula.

Our guide through this animated retelling is Moses the Raven. But actually, Citron moves between the characters in turn, bringing each to life as the needs of the story dictate. He gets the animals in the revolutionary spirit with Old Major’s (literally?) barnstorming speech. He gives a different voice and mannerisms to leaders Snowball and Napoleon, Boxer the workhorse, Squealer, the farmhands, the sheep, the cows, and so on. I don’t know if Citron has an innate talent for making farm animal noises or has honed his craft over time, but either way it is impressive. And entertaining – the image of a revolutionary chicken will stay with me for some time.

Theatre for Different Purposes

If there is one character I thought was less fully developed, strangely this was Moses the Raven. Moses appears in the original novella – a tame raven who spies for farmer Mr. Jones, and gets beer-soaked bread in return. In the allegorical world of Animal Farm, Moses stands in for organised religion, “the opium of the masses”. Hence his tales of the paradise of Sugarcandy Mountain, to which there is a nod in this retelling.

However, little of this backstory makes it into Citron’s adaptation. Moses is instead more of a straightforward narrator, in between scenes of dialogue. The complexities of the (albeit minor) original character don’t have time to show themselves. I wonder if a character with less of an allegorical role might suffice, if there isn’t a way to bring more of Moses out?

The reason that I’m not sure this is really such an issue, though, is Citron’s intentions for the work. Through this fundraising page, Citron hopes to keep developing the work, including taking it into schools. This, I think, is perfect. His wonderful storytelling capabilities, combined with the clear visual language of the production, and the sheer energy Citron and director Victoria Waddington imbue it with, is perfect to convey the underlying messages of the story to audiences generally, but I suspect particularly younger audiences. And, at a time when being able to identify propaganda, extremism, and disingenuous politicians is once more a critical skill, this is an important mission.

Without being part of a school audience, I nonetheless found Animal Farm: As Witnessed by Moses the Raven to be very entertaining. That revolutionary chicken still has me laughing. I admire what Citron is attempting through this work, and hope you have the chance to get along to the Barons Court Theatre or future venues to support it.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3.5/5

Animal Farm: As Witnessed by Moses the Raven on at Barons Court Theatre until 3 October 2026. More info and tickets here.