Behind the scenes on Olivier Award-nominated Animal Farm

Marking the 80th anniversary of Animal Farm, a Leeds Playhouse production of the dystopian classic has been nominated for one of the most prestigious awards in British theatre.

Many of the themes in George Orwell's story about an animal uprising and the seductive nature of power continue to impact modern-day times, those behind the theatre adaptation say.

Ahead of the Olivier Awards in London, BBC News went behind the scenes to see how the contemporary version was created.

Amy Leach, who directed the Animal Farm production, says the team tried to make the show relevant to life in 2025.

"We were really interested in the themes around power and greed and the inequality of society.

"That feels like what Orwell was really exploring in his original."

She continues: "We looked at things like contemporary farming, factory farming, abattoirs.

"We looked a lot at British industry and then the erosion of British industry."

For these ideas to transfer to the stage, work needed to happen behind the scenes in the workshop - which was a job for Abe Ahmed and Dicken Harold.

Abe, who is the head of scenic workshop, says the Leeds Playhouse workshop is "massive" compared to other theatres in the UK.

"It's designed from an architectural point of having flat floors all the way through from workshop to stage," Abe says.

He explains that, because of this, they can get a lot of pre-built designs through the building without any complicated lifting or logistical difficulties.

But Dicken, who is the head of technical design, described the difficulties they faced when the production moved from London to Leeds in March.

"Normally for a show that only happens at the Playhouse, we can make it in very big lumps, stick some wheels under it and drag it through. But you can't do that if it's going to London and various other theatres around the country," he says.

Tachia Newall, who plays Napoleon, says one thing that makes the production so special is the incorporation of British Sign Language (BSL) and live audio descriptions.

"It's just a beautiful idea to let everybody in," Tachia says.

Brydie, who is physically disabled, adds: "I don't think I've ever been in such a space where disabled and deaf and hard-of-hearing performers weren't an afterthought.

"I don't think I've ever been in such a collaborative rehearsal space."

Despite the dark nature of the play, the cast said they had a lot of fun performing.

"In rehearsals, we all kind of cottoned on that, even though the subject matter was so dark and could be related to so many things happening around the world, we were just having a lot of fun doing it," Tachia says.

Director Amy adds: "This team is so incredible and they're such a well-bonded group of humans.

"We've had such a lovely time making this challenging and epic show."

Announcing the nominations, the Olivier Awards said: "The competition for nominations has been intense in what has proven to be a transformative year, marked by a rich blend of dynamic new works, innovative interpretations of classics and a commitment to championing diverse voices and stories."

The annual awards will be hosted by singer and West End star Beverley Knight and Broadway performer Billy Porter.

The ceremony will take place at the Royal Albert Hall at 17:45 BST on Sunday.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.