Are we ruled by pigs? No? Then why is Bhanbhassa Dhubthien's musical adaptation of George Orwell's "Animal Farm" ("Kanmueang Rueang Sat Sat") not only ringing bells but also stirring many laughs among us?

When the story's mastermind Snowball the boar devises the philosophy of Animalism's Seven Principles, he realises these are too difficult for some animals to understand.

So he abbreviates and simplifies them as "Four legs good. Two legs bad".

But when two hens question if birds are good or bad, his explanation isn't too clear and he concludes: "It doesn't matter if you don't understand, as long as you accept my explanation."

Led by a group of four sheep who agree with each other on everything, the animals chorus these two lines merrily.

And as the stage narrator informs us, the sheep don't stop for another 15 minutes.

Later, when the pig leader Napoleon starts to conduct business with neighbouring farms and learns how to walk on two legs like humans, it's the sheep again who follow the leader, singing, "Four legs good. Two legs better".

Are most of us like these four sheep?

While Orwell's novella is 61 years old, and Peter Hall's musical adaptation 22, this Thai translation, despite the bread and butter of some of the syntax, is very present day.

The play is entertaining and thought provoking throughout, thanks to powerful performances from the 25-member cast and Bhanbhassa's adept coaching.

But some audience members may wish for a faster and more varied pace and something to shorten the 160-minute-running time.

This might be achieved by eliminating some of the ensemble's ad libs and pauses between lines.

Nevertheless, "Kanmueang Rueang Sat Sat" succeeds with its subtle satire and underlying detail, like the tricolour of the ribbon around the copy of "Animal Farm" our narrator reads from.

A post-show discussion titled "Politics: Whose Concern Is It After All?" was held last Sunday afternoon.

On the panel were film and theatre critic Kittisak Suwannaphokhin, political science professor Chaiyant Chaiyaphon, English Literature professor Carina Chotirawe, law professor Narongdet Sarukhosit and celebrity businesswoman Darunee Kritbunyalai, with a slight advantage to the anti-government lobby.

The 90-minute talk was politically fiery at times but constantly funny. Professionally moderated by Yotmalai Chaloemchai, the focus of the discussion was on why politics should be everyone's concern - reflected in the way Bhanbhassa's staging gives more weight to the ruled than the ruling animals.

"It took the animals two years to build the windmill," said Kittisak.

"I've been hearing about our 'windmill' for almost all my life. And now we're not even sure it can be opened."

Considering the speakers' political predilections, you may think the final outcome of the debate would be 3-2. Not at all.

The discussion shifted on to the topic of the media, sparked by the character Squealer, the animals' propagandist who can turn any lie to truth.

"Maybe I'm a cynic, but I can't stand romantic songs on the radio anymore", said Carina, who once compiled a list of "10 Books Thaksin Must Read".

"[In this political situation] I have to tune to those channels lots of us listen to, read many magazines, and visit many websites. Some of them may be biased, but at least they are alternative media," she said.

And just as Napoleon requires all the animals to attend a weekly meeting on Sunday to be assigned their work for the coming week, Carina noted, "my radio is on every Saturday morning [for the PM's weekly show]".

Speaking of alternative media, Chaiyant recalled, "I was reading Thai Rath one day and asked my housemaid to buy six other newspapers. She bought me six more Thai Raths!"

A recent study shows that prime-time television is dominated by the ruling party and millions of people in rural areas don't even know the name of the leader of the opposition.

And by the way, will we ever find out the whole truth about the car bomb?  

At the end, Darunee, who repeatedly said that political tyrants were common to all societies at all times, suggested we all exercise our animalistic - pardon me, democratic - rights by casting our votes in the upcoming election.

In response, Kittisak delivered a final one-liner: "But I'm not sure if the election is the solution". Though that was his KO upper-cut, Kittisak wasn't sporting a white wristband (like the pro-Thaksin supporters at an incident outside Central World last week), and the audience didn't just stand around gawking. They applauded. 

"Animal Farm" ("Kanmueang Rueang Sat Sat") continues its limited run through Sunday at Chulalongkorn University's Arts Theatre.

Despite popular demand, the show cannot be extended. The curtain rises at 6.30pm from today to Saturday, with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm

Tickets are Bt200. Students with valid ID pay Bt150. The theatre seats only 150, so purchase your tickets in advance at CU Book Centre (Siam Square) or by calling (02) 218 4802 or (01) 559 7252. For more information, visit www.ArtsAnimalFarm.tk.

The writer can be contacted at Pawit.M@

chula.ac.th. 

Pawit Mahasarinand

The Nation