Big Brother is watching you...and he's scarier than ever

Reviewed by: Andrew Drummond, Wednesday 14th May, 2014

Great night out: Book worms, theatre aficionados, sci-fi lovers, libertarians
Best bit? The ensemble magically disappearing from the stage under cover of two seconds of darkness
Recommend to friends? Orwell fans obviously, plus anyone with even the slightest interest in thought-provoking drama...so, everyone really
Morning after effect: Casting fearful glances at every CCTV camera I walk by
Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars

Transferring from a successful run at the Almeida Theatre, David Icke and Duncan MacMillan's 1984 sets itself a lofty goal: to bring a fresh perspective to one of the most celebrated, analysed and endlessly referenced books of the 20th Century. Remarkably, it's a goal the production accomplishes, in what must be one of the most inventively staged works that London has seen for a while.

I'll admit, the first twenty minutes was a touch confusing. This is not an adaptation which talks down to its audience, it's one that throws you in at the deep end and trusts you to hold your breath. Icke and Macmillan have, for the first time, incorporated the novel's appendix into the story. This means the play opens in 2050, with a book club of sorts discussing the veracity of the novel itself. This adds a whole new level of meta-commentary to the proceedings. Is Winston Smith a reliable narrator? Is 1984 actually a work of fact rather than fiction? Are we actually living under the all seeing eye of Big Brother at this very moment?

Once this rather clever framing device has been established, the play settles down into a riveting dystopian drama. Sam Crane brings a wonderful twitchiness to the role of Winston Smith, an everyman who dares to fight back against the omnipotent Big Brother. The other standout cast member is Tim Dutton, whose portrayal of O'Brien switches between trustworthy authority and pure malignancy at a moment's notice. The play reaches its apex of intensity when it is essentially stripped down to a two-hander in the last twenty minutes, O'Brien and Crane playing out a gut-wrenching interrogation inside Room 101. It's at this point that Dutton's monologue of authoritarian propaganda will make you want to leap onto your feet at its sheer brilliance.

The staging of this 1984 is a thing of wonder. I won't spoil the various dramatic makeovers that take place, but suffice to say, the stage at the end doesn't bear a single trace of the stage which existed at the beginning. A projector, which alternatively displays videos and live feeds from handheld cameras in the hands of the actors, adds another dynamic to the proceedings.

Endlessly inventive, terrifically performed and shot through with an overpowering sense of impending doom, 1984 does justice to the text while forging an identity all of its own. Wondering if Orwell is still as relevant as everyone claims? Go and see this.

View our show pages for more information about 1984, Playhouse Theatre.