Animal Farm Short Play Script

ANIMAL FARM ACT I - THE REVOLUTION Narrator: In England, there once can be found a farm called Manor Farm, owned by an irresponsible farmer named Mr. Jones, who had not much concern for his poor farm animals. (Animals sorrowfully doing work in the farm) Narrator: One evening, when Mr. Jones had retreated for the day, Old Major, the oldest and wisest of the animals, called for a meeting to announce something important. Old Major: Comrades, so few us will ever come to know the blessing of old age as I have. You, Porkers, don’t you know that in your prime all that awaits you is the chopping board?! You, Hens, how many of your eggs did not even the chance to hatch! You, horses, when your youth is gone and your muscles fail, what then? Our lives are short and miserable but should this always be the case? Is England so poor that we need to live like this? Nay! The lands of England which we toil are rich but the humans take everything from us! Yes, the humans are the root of all our misery! In my youth, there was a song that is now sadly forgotten. I myself had once forgotten it, too, but the words recently came back to me in a dream. The song is called Beasts of England… (clears throat and sings) Beasts of England, Beasts of Ireland Beasts of every land and clime Hearken to my joyful tidings Of the golden future time. (Animals join Old Major in singing Beasts of England) Soon or late the date is coming, Tyrant Man shall o’erthrown And the fruitful fields of England Shall be trod by beasts alone Mr. Jones: (shoots) Stupid animals! (Animals quickly flee from the meeting.) Narrator: The following day, to everyone’s grief, Old Major was discovered lifeless in his stall. Snowball: Comrades, what better way is there to remember Old Major than to realize his dream of an England where animals are free and equal, an England not ruled by men but by us, animals! We, pigs, call this the principle of ANIMALISM! We must rise and fight for what is ours!

Animals: (murmurs)… But Mr. Jones is our Master, he feeds us!.. An England ruled by animals? That won’t happen in our lifetime…. There’s really nothing we can do about it… The fields are waiting, we still have work to do… (animals disperse to work) Narrator: But as it turned out, the revolution was achieved much earlier and more easily than anyone had expected. On one very hot, midsummer day… (Mr. Jones drinking without care at the side, his men boisterously playing cards at the other side.) Animals: We’re so hungry… We haven’t eaten all day!... Where is our food? Snowball: Oink, oink, oink! I can’t take this anymore! I’m taking my meal no matter what! (bangs warehouse door) (One by one, the animals come to help Snowball to open the door of the warehouse where their food is kept. Finally, the warehouse door opens and they eat to their hearts’ content. But Jones and his men notice something is up and they come to the warehouse with whips in their hands.) Men: Huh? What is going on? Jones: You lowly animals! (throws his whip) Snowball: (gets a hold of the whip) Oh no, you’re not doing this to us! Comrades, attaaaaack! (The animals lunge at Jones and his men until they are out of the farm. When the animals realized they had gotten rid of Jones, they broke out in a song in celebration. The animals then proceed to burn the whips, nose rings, harness, and everything that remind them of Jones.) Snowball: We have defeated the humans!!! (Animals cheer) Snowball: Hear ye, hear thee! This farm is our farm now and shall henceforth be known as ANIMAL FARM! Snowball: Lo and behold! Animal Farm’s Seven Commandments! (reads the seven commandments he has written on the barn wall) 1: Whatever goes up on two legs is an enemy. (cymbals sound effect) 2: Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings is a friend. (cymbals) 3: No animal shall wear clothes. (cymbals)

4: No animal shall sleep in a bed. (cymbals) 5: No animal shall drink alcohol. (cymbals) 6: No animal shall kill another animal. (cymbals) And last but most important: ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL! (cymbals) Animals: (cheering) Four legs good! Two legs bad! Four legs good! Two legs bad! Snowball: Birds, fly and spread the word of rebellion to our brothers in other farms! Birds: Tweet, tweet, tweet! ACT II – AFTERMATH (In the Red Lion Bar) Mr. Jones: (out of breath from running) Help me! My farm has been taken from me! Men: By who? Mr. Jones: The animals! They’ve gone wild! Men: HAHAHAHA! That’s just stupid! Animals can’t run a farm. Before long, they’ll starve themselves! Narrator: But the humans were gravely mistaken. Under the leadership of the pigs, Animal Farm was more productive and efficient than ever. Among the pigs were three prominent figures: Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer. Snowball: Cows and horses! Begin plowing the fields immediately! Napoleon: Goats and donkeys! Bring the vegetables to the warehouse! Squealer: Chickens, ducks and geese! See to it that not a single grain falls off those bags! (Boxer pulling a cart of fresh apples comes in) Napoleon: Comrade Boxer! The apples! To the pig pen please! Boxer: ….Uhmm… But… But aren’t the apples supposed to be distributed to everyone? Squealer: Comrade, surely you don’t think we are being selfish or greedy! We pigs don’t even like apples! But we do a lot of brainwork, you see, and apples provide us the nutrients we need. Can you imagine what will happen if we fail our duty? Jones will come back!

Boxer: Oh no! Not Jones!... To the pig pen, right? Narrator: Aside from Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer, the most admired of all was Boxer, the horse. Big and strong, he could do more than what all the animals combined could do. His mottos in life are… Boxer: (pulling the cart to the pig pen) I will work harder! Narrator: And… Boxer: The pigs are always right! Narrator: One day, Snowball decided to educate the animals in the farm but Napoleon took a habit of always disagreeing with Snowball’s ideas. Snowball: Repeat after me… Eyyy! Biiiiii! Siiiii! Napoleon: (mumbling at the side) Hmph! What use is there to educate these grown animals! Education should be on the young! (approaches Bluebell) Bluebell: Woof! Woof! (nursing her newlyborn puppies) Napoleon: Comrade Bluebell, from now on, I will be taking care of your puppies. Bluebell: But… I am their mother… Napoleon: This is for the good of Animal Farm. Do you want Jones to come back? Bluebell: (whimpers) No. Napoleon: Then you should entrust your puppies to me. (takes puppies) ACT III – BATTLE OF THE COWSHED Narrator: As Animal Farm flourished, word of their successful rebellion reached several farms, inspiring other animals to start their own uprising. The humans, on the other hand, finally learned to treat the matter more seriously. Birds: Tweet, tweet, tweet! The humans are on their way! Everyone, to your battle positions! Jones: Men, let’s reclaim Manor Farm! Attaaaack! Snowball: Comrades, chaaarge! (Away-away then the humans retreat) Animals: We won again! Horraaaaay! (Animals cheer and sing Beasts of England)

Snowball: This battle shall go down in history as the Battle of the Cowshed! ACT IV – THE RISE OF NAPOLEON Narrator: Wit the defeat of the humans, the Animal Farm continued to be prosperous and peaceful for a couple of months until one day, Snowball gathered the animals to propose a project… Snowball: Comrades, I have gathered you today to propose the construction of a windmill which will provide the farm with much needed electricity. Napoleon: Hah! What nonsense! That windmill will cost us far too much! Snowball: Yes, to build this windmill will entail a lot of time and hard work. Still, imagine the benefits! In each stall, there will be light, hot and cold water, and a heater! Winter will be so much more easier! Napoleon: We are fine even without those things! At this time of year, we must focus on food production! We need every bit of resource to keep our mangers full! Snowball: Comrades, electricity will run threshing machines, ploughs, harrows, rollers, and reapers and binders! Our workload will be lessened so that there will only be three work days in a week! (Animals cheer for Snowball) Squealer: (whisper) Napoleon, this is bad! They really like Snowball’s idea! Napoleon: Hmpf! Snowball, you leave me with no choice. (whistles) (Fierce, growling dogs appear out of nowhere and chase Snowball off the farm) Animals: (frightened murmurs) Napoleon, why? Napoleon: Comrades, Snowball is a criminal! I have learned that he is in cahoots with Jones all along! (Animals murmur among themselves) Muriel: How can that be? He fought bravely against the humans! (Dogs growl and Muriel moves back) Napoleon: That was all a plan to fool us! And now, with Snowball gone, I shall assume the heavy responsibility of leadership! And my first order of business shall be to establish the farmhouse, previously occupied by Jones, to be the pigs’ headquarters! Long live Animal Farm! Animals: (murmurs)

Squealer: Now everyone, we still need to rise early tomorrow so if you can now proceed to your stalls! (Dogs growl at the animals and the terrified animals proceed to their stalls) ACT IV – THE WINDMILL Narrator: And so, while the other animals were escorted by the dogs to their stalls, the pigs moved in to the farmhouse and made it their headquarters. Animal: The other night, I saw the pigs sleeping on Jones’ bed! Animal: But don’t we have a commandment against that? Animal: Let’s see… (looks at the barn wall and reads with difficulty)… No animal shall sleep on a bed… WITH SHEETS! Animal: Huh? Did it always say that? (murmurs) Narrator: With the comfort of the farmhouse, Napoleon and the other pigs would be seen less and less. It had become Squealer’s duty to pass on Napoleon’s orders to the animals. Squealer: As per the order of our Leader, Comrade Napoleon, Father of All Animals and Terror of Mankind, we shall begin the construction of the windmill immediately! Animal: Huh? But wasn’t Napoleon so against it? Squealer: Oh no, Comrades! In fact, it was Napoleon’s idea all along! Snowball was a bad animal and so Napoleon got rid of him! Boxer: I don’t quite understand but if Napoleon says so, then it must be right! Napoleon is always right! Squealer: Comrades, as we endeavor on the windmill and less work is put on the fields, food rations will be adjusted accordingly and on Sundays, all animals are required to report to work! (Animals labor to construct the windmill) Narrator: And the animals began working on the windmill. Among all the animals, Boxer was the most helpful with his strength and determination. Boxer: (pulling huge rocks) I must work harder! Squealer: (rings bell) Lunch time! (Animals form a line to get their food) Animals: Finally! We’re starving!

Squealer: Here you go. Next please! Animal: Wait! This is all? This will barely fill our stomachs! Squealer: Comrade, compared to Jones’ time, our food now is way plentiful! You should be grateful! (Boxer falls in line and is evidently very tired from work) Benjamin: Comrade Boxer, don’t push yourself too hard… Boxer: But Comrade Benjamin, I’m the only animal capable of carrying the rocks. If I don’t do my best, it will take years to finish this windmill! From now on, I promise to rise one hour earlier in the morning! Narrator: But with less work devoted on the fields, Animal Farm soon found itself severely lacking in some food and other necessities. All the animals were skinnier each passing day but the pigs were mysteriously getting rounder and rounder. Squealer: Comrades, comrades, I have another announcement! Our Leader, Comrade Napoleon, has decided that we shall trade with the outside world to procure our other needs! Hens: (whispering among themselves) We are trading with humans? Squealer: Hens, Animal Farm calls upon you to surrender your eggs for the prosperity of the trade! Long live Animal Farm! And long live Comrade Napoleon! Hen: (whispering among themselves) Bokbokbok! But didn’t Old Major say that our eggs shouldn’t be taken from us! Hen: Girls, this is not right! I’m laying my eggs where they can’t be reached! (Hens fly off to the roof) Mr. Whymper: Good day Mr. Napoleon! As agreed, I have come to deliver some feed in exchange for 400 eggs! Napoleon: For a moment, Mr. Whymper. Squealer! Squealer! Where are the eggs? Squealer: Napoleon, the hens have gone to lay on the roof! They’re protecting their eggs! Napoleon: What?! Those hens need to be punished! From on, no food for them! Napoleon: Mr. Whymper, my sincerest apology. Instead of eggs, we have timber on the farm. If you can find us a buyer, then we’ll be able to pay for the feed.

Mr. Whymper: Hmmm… I value my business with you so I’ll let this go this one time. As for your timber, I am pretty sure the neighboring farms will be interested. Hen: Bokbokbok… Girl, I’m dying! We haven’t eaten for weeks! Hen: Be strong! This will pass soon! Hen: No, I can’t take this anymore… Good bye… (mukirig and then drops dead) Hen: Huhuhu… Narrator: Months passed and the windmill was more than halfway done. However, progress slowed with the coming of the harsh stormy season. One night, a loud thud was heard throughout the farm. (A big loud thud) Squealer: Napoleon, the windmill! The walls had been destroyed! Napoleon: (sees the destroyed windmill) Squealer! Find out who did this! Squealer: Yes, Napoleon. In fact, we already have suspects! (whispers in Napoleon’s ear) Napoleon: Bring them to me! Quickly! Napoleon: Comrades! We have discovered that there are traitors among us! They are supporters of Snowball and are responsible for wrecking the windmill last night! (Squealer and dogs enter, pulling along them some animals whose limbs were tightly tied) Napoleon: Tonight! I want everyone to see what happens to traitors! Dogs, kill them! (Dogs kill the animals) Animals: (wail) Noooo! (cries) Squealer: Back to your stalls now, everyone! Animal: (cries) But wasn’t there a commandment against killing other animals? Animal: No, Comrade. Apparently, the wall says, “No animal shall kill another animal… WITHOUT CAUSE.” Narrator: ACT V – BATTLE OF THE WINDMILL

Narrator: (In the farmhouse) Mr. Whymper: Mr. Napoleon, here is Mr. Frederick of Pinchfield Farm to bid on your timber. Napoleon: Good day, Mr. Frederick. So how much are we talking about here? Mr. Frederick: Here! (gives Napoleon a blank check) Napoleon: But this is a blank check! According to the law, I have a prima facie authority to fill it up as such for any amount. Are you sure? Mr. Frederick: Of course. I am hoping that this will be the start of a fruitful relationship between our farms. (Napoleon and Mr. Frederick shakes hands) (Trumpet sound effects) Napoleon: Comrades, today, we celebrate the fruit of our labor! Behold, the pride of Animal Farm, our very own windmill! (Cloth is taken off to reveal RJ the Windmill ) (Animals cheer) (Meanwhile, at the Red Lion Bar…) Mr. Frederick: (evil laugh) Animal Farm had no idea that the check I gave them was drawn on a fictitious drawee! I can easily destroy them now that I’ve earned their trust! And soon, Animal Farm will be mine! (evil laugh) Birds: Tweet, tweet, tweet! Armed men are approaching the farm and Frederick is leading them! Napoleon: Frederick?! I should have known! Squealer, assemble the animals! ACT VI Alcohol