A man of many parts

Sophie Winch talks to an Edgware-based children’s entertainer who is playing all the roles in a new adaptation of a George Orwell classic

A man with a beard and moustache in black a hat and black suit, against a black background — Dov Citron as Moses the Raven in Animal Farm

Dov Citron, better known as beloved Edgware-based children’s party entertainer Captain Calamity, is moving in a new direction this month.

He is stepping out of his cloud of balloons and into the shoes (and hooves) of every character from Animal Farm, in his one-man theatrical adaptation of the George Orwell novel at Barons Court Theatre which starts its run on 29th September.

Animal Farm, Orwell’s 1945 novel, is an allegory of the Russian Revolution. Though ostensibly set on a farm, its farm-animal characters closely parallel communist leaders including Stalin, Trotsky and Lenin, as well as workers and propagandists.

“I don’t want it to be comedic,” Citron tells me, “and I don’t want to break a pin-drop moment with humour”. This is a departure from the norms of not just Citron himself, but also previous adaptations of Animal Farm. The 2025 Andy Serkis-directed animated film, for example, tried to infuse broad comedy into Orwell’s novel (to mixed success).

“Other productions,” Citron says, “can be like commedia dell’arte, or clowns”. Orwell’s original story, though, was far from pantomime; it was a warning, and a stark commentary on the corrupting influence of power. This is the tone of Citron’s production, which preview audiences have described as “thought-provoking”, “compelling” and “dark”.

Citron does depart from Orwell’s novel though, in his focus on Moses the Raven. He’s “always there”, but he never “had any meat in the game” – Citron describes him as a “watcher”.

Despite playing a relatively small part in Orwell’s original story, Citron keeps bringing his play back to Moses. “He’s a tame raven in the book,” Citron says, “but here he comes and goes at will”. Citron’s Moses is an anchor; a symbol of hope for the animals – and an ambiguous figure. “We don’t know if this is the first farm he’s seen, or the first story he’s told”.

Staging a one-man play, of course, has its challenges. Citron recounts the daunting task of walking into an empty rehearsal space alone, and creating the physicality of characters and their voices from scratch, pushing against his instincts as a comedic actor to “go all out there”.

“Pulling back”, he says, is important; he focuses on finding subtleties, toeing the line between being instantly defineable without being caricatured. Barons Court is a stripped back theatre, and Citron embodies not just characters but also staging, set and environment.

Despite the difficulties, he strongly recommends making a one-man play: “don’t rely on anyone else; don’t wait for the phone to ring. Don’t wait to create opportunities”.

Citron hopes that audiences will feel something about his play. “I don’t want a bland response,” he says, “I want them to have an opinion one way or the other”. He also aims to show people who might not otherwise be familiar with Animal Farm how unnervingly relevant it is, and how convincingly these characters could be paralleled to the leaders of today.

Barons Court Theatre is just the start for Citron, who aims to bring his play to schools, so that it can be watched in tandem with studying the book.

Animal Farm is playing at the Barons Court Theatre, from the 29th September to 3rd October. Tickets are available here: https://www.baronscourttheatre.com/animalfarm

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