Four legs badass in Revolution Farm

George Orwell is a big hitter in literature so when I heard James Kenworth was coming to Cultural Exchanges to talk about his adaptation of Animal Farm, I knew I had to attend. 

Kenworth gave an awe-inspiring on how he turned Animal Farm into Revolution Farm, a modern-day dramatic adaptation set and staged on Newham Farm in East London - and how he got permission to do it.  
In Kenworth's adaptation the animals wear hoodies and that makes them seem more dangerous since so many older people feel threatened by hoodie-wearing teens. It makes it seem "badass".

And that word "badass" is the right one since Kenworth changed Orwell's famous line "Four legs good, two legs bad," from Animal Farm, to "Four legs badass, two legs waste man." And that's just one example of how Revolution Farm uses modern slang. He also changes the names of the characters so that Napoleon, for instance, becomes Daddy Love.
 
Most of the presentation was about the creation of this adaptation and how James Kenworth didn't wanted to make it his own, but to make it modern. But to me it seemed, from this brilliant presentation, that by taking Orwell's work and turning it into a contemporary play, he also succeeded in making it very much his own.


Josh Harwood

Love Nina

I am what you'd call an idiot, and in true idiot fashion it took me a couple of weeks to remember I had to reserve tickets for Cultural Exchanges events at De Montfort University, where lots of established people come along oozing cleverness, showing us little students how it's done. 

 

To my overwhelming relief I found Nina Stibbe tickets were still available. Nina Stibbe, for all those who live under a rock, is a bestselling novelist who used to live in Leicester. She's going to be back on home ground on 2nd March between 5 and 6, and you can book tickets here.

 

Nina Stibbe's first book, which has been adapted for TV, is a collection of letters she wrote to her sister called (not surprisingly) Love, Nina. I started reading it partly because of the wonderful reviews, but mostly because I like the name Nina. Needless to say, I then fell in love with the book. It's about a nanny in London who writes to her sister about all the trials and tribulations she has faced being a nanny. Basically, it's brill and hilarious, but don't take my word for it, read it yourself.

If you too love the name Nina, or just love her books, come along, because you certainly don't want to miss out!

 

Miss GW