George Orwells simple, tragic fable, telling what happens when the animals drive out Mr Jones and attempt to run the farm themselves, has become a world-famous classic. In a brand new contemporary, urban reimagining of Animal Farm, When Chaplin Met Gandhi writer James Kenworth takes Orwells classic satire and gives it a fresh, contemporary twist, injecting its timeless tale of a revolution that went wrong with a gritty, urban, in-yer-face language. In what was a first for Orwells classic satire, the show was performed in one of Londons longest established and largest inner-city farms, Newham City Farm, and featured a unique, mixed economy casting of Newham school pupils acting alongside professional actors.
James is a Playwright and Academic. His plays includes verseprose plays Johnny Song (Warehouse Theatre, Croydon); Gob (Kings Head, Pleasance, Courtyard); the black comedy Polar Bears (Underbelly); issue-led / based plays Everybodys World (Newham tour), Dementias Journey (East London tour); plays for young people/schools, The Last Story in the World (Soho Theatre); and a Newham-based quadtrilogy of site-specific / responsive plays: When Chaplin Met Gandhi (Kingsley Hall); Revolution Farm (Newham City Farm); A Splotch of Red: Keir Hardie in West Ham (Community Links and Newham Libraries); and Alice in Canning Town (Arc in the Park). Gob starred former Take That star, Jason Orange, and was Time Out and Whats On Critics Choice at Kings Head Theatre, Islington. Its revival at Edinburgh Fringe Festival earned the distinction of two five-star reviews from Three Weeks and The List, and was included in the feature "Editor's Highlights of the Fringe".
"With the unique blessing of The George Orwell Estate, playwright James Kenworth keeps close to the original narrative, rendering events explicable for those new to the novel. A modern twist is added with the use of urban language - an urbanity percussioned by occasional planes taking off from City Airport nearby." -- British Theatre Guide
"Instead of ""Four legs good, two legs bad"", the animals are whipped up to chant ""Four legs badass, two legs wasteman"" in this terrifically powerful update...Highly recommended." -- The Independent
