Sir Elton John is set to make a musical based on George Orwell's Animal Farm, it has emerged.

The singer is working on the production with Lee Hall, who wrote the musical Billy Elliot.

Animal Farm tells the story of a piglet called Napoleon who overthrows a rival to take control of Old Manor Farm.

Orwell's story is about a piglet called Napoleon who destroys a rival and overrules other opponents in his bid to control the old Manor Farm.

The dystopian novella reflects Joseph Stalin's rise to power in the Soviet Union before World War II.

Hall told the Daily Mail it had taken two years to write the musical adaptation and said he expected it to be another two years before the production opened.

(by Jason Gregory)