Animal Farm, Activ8 Theatre Group, Bolton Octagon Youth Theatre. Runs until Saturday

THIS was Chris Sudworth's first production as youth theatre director at the Octagon -- and what an ambitious project to start with.

Animal Farm is a literary masterpiece.

George Orwell's tale of an idealistic animal revolution subtly -- and then brutally -- overtaken by corruption and the thirst for power is a difficult story for any group to stage.

And Sudworth's decision to take his time to prepare the young actors for their performances -- an approach that involved discussing the play with them in great detail as long ago as October -- certainly paid off.

There are a lot characters to portray. Add to this the fact that most are animals, and it becomes clear that even the most experienced cast would have a difficult job doing justice to the play.

However, Activ8 rose to the occasion admirably, with almost no set to work with and sparse but effective costumes.

For example, the brutal pigs who lead the revolution are perfectly decked out in black leather jackets. The message is simple, but effective.

Many of the cast move effortlessly between roles, and there were some excellent performances.

The horses -- Cherie Cunningham as Clover and Nick Larkin as Boxer -- were very impressive.

But special mention must go to the pigs, who with their equally good vicious dogs, slowly and effectively developed an air of menace.

Nikki Davies was excellent as Napoleon, but it was the curiously named Oli as Squealer who gave a particularly charismatic performance.

This was a powerful show which carried a strong punch -- far from easy to convey on stage.

But it was done well by a talented group of young actors.

Beverly Greenberg