Guy Masterson’s breathtaking solo performance of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ has to be seen to be believed. He’s at the Darlington Hippodrome this January.

Power corrupts. Sometimes absolutely. This timeless warning is one of the key themes of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, but I doubt that that theme has been conveyed so damn entertainingly as it is in Guy Masterson’s bravura take on this timeless classic. Masterson – who has previously turned his talents to the likes of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Under Milk Wood’ – is famed for his uncanny ability to bring multiple characters to life and here he gives us Snowball, Napoleon, Squealer, Boxer, Clover and Mollie – along with sundry other cows, hens, dogs, and a cat – in a spellbindingly physical performance that ignites with both humour and bags of drama. The production has won swathes of fabulous reviews from publications that include The Scotsman and The Times (“This brilliant adaptation gets to the heart of Orwell’s barnyard classic”), and with upwardly mobile pigs on the rise right across the world, it couldn’t be more prescient. DP

Animal Farm, Friday 31 January, Darlington Hippodrome, 7.30pm, from £15, darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk