1984 is a time when it is dangerous to think, to start a diary or worst of all fall in love. This stunning production, bleak and without hope, brings this grim existence to life from Orwell’s 1949 novel.
The UK production by Headlong and Almeida Theatre, directed by collaborators Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan strips back the novel and presents vignettes that move back and forward through time in repeated ways, building a sense of deju vu and paranoia throughout. Life it seems in 1984 is a series of robot-like actions and unfeeling reactions. Everyone is wanting to avoid the ubiquitous eye of Big Brother. Two minutes of Hate is screened every day, showing the fate of those who dare defy the regime. One must behave accordingly. Winston Smith (Matthew Spencer) however has different ideas. In fact he has an idea; that’s the problem.
It is a place where the vocabulary and language is reduced each year. Words such as ‘bad’ become redundant and instead become ‘ungood’. Governmental control infects every aspect of people’s lives, where it is dangerous to think or feel anything at all unless it is for Big Brother.
Matthew Spencer, on stage for the entire show, is utterly convincing as the hapless Winston, wide eyed and wondering, his world disintegrating as he becomes more dangerous and insecure – until he seals his own fate. The entire cast are exceptional, with a particular hat tip to Simon Coates as Parsons and Christopher Patrick Nolan as martin, who added moments of humour to their already intense characters. Janine Hourini who plays the rebellious Julia brought a warmth and charm to her role in this her first professional production.
The set, designed by Chloe Lamford, is a claustrophobic wood-paneled space with cloudy windows, inspired ​by the 1940s. It is an office, a canteen an antique shop, even a park. It is a place where surprises lurk. Above the set is a tiled white screen, which projected bedroom scenes (amongst others) in real time from closed circuit television. There is the feeling that cameras are everywhere capturing every movement, every flinch.
Finally the original set is pulled apart to reveal a stark white Peter Brook-like space. But this is no dream. This is the nightmare of Room 101 where the only exit is via pain and submission.
This had the audience squirming in their seats, as blinded by flashes of iris-splitting white lights then plunged into sudden darkness we were subjected to the same treatment as Comrade Winston Smith (in our imagination) as his finger tips were sliced off and his teeth were drilled.
The sound design throughout by Tom Gibbons was particularly outstanding: bass undertones sat underneath most scenes like a menacing presence compared to the shrill distorted cacophony during the rendition scenes.
The irony was not lost on me when before the show there was a monotone voiceover from the venue telling the audience their safety is valued and in the unlikely event of an emergency they should obey the instructions of venue staff and move to the exit signs. The future is bleak, whether one is in downtown Aleppo or London. A totalitarian regime is a matter of perspective. After this theatrical experience, one might wonder whether we really have as much control and freedom in our own lives as we think.
Rating: 4 ½ stars out of 5
1984
Presented in association with Headlong, Almeida Theatre and Nottingham Playhouse
By George Orwell
Adapted and Directed by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan
Designer: Chloe Lamford
Lighting: Natasha Chivers
Sound: Tom Gibbons
Video: Tim Reid
Cast: Tim Dutton, Stephen Fewell, Janine Harouni, Christopher Patrick Nolan, Ben Porter, Matthew Spencer, Simon Coates and Mandi Symonds
Melbourne Festival
www.festival.melbourne
8-25 October 2015
