GEORGE Orwell's Animal Farm arrives at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on Tuesday - but with a warning that mud may fly off the stage into the first few rows of the audience!

The Northern Stage Ensemble production has toured extensively throughout the UK and Europe and has won high critical acclaim.

The famous story is of cruelly treated animals on Manor Farm, rising up against their owners in a revolt led by the pigs declaring 'all Animals are Equal.'

But it soon becomes clear that while four legs may be better than two; some four legs are more equal than others.

Orwell wrote the book in 1943 as an attack on Stalin and his betrayal of the Russian revolution's ideals, but the story of idealism and betrayal could be about the corruption of power anywhere.

The production opens with a group of political refugees telling the story before transforming themselves into the characters portrayed in the book.

Animal Farm runs until May 24.

Tickets cost £10-£18.75 on 0121 236 4455 or www.birmingham-rep.co.uk