{"id":2041,"date":"2017-06-04T18:29:24","date_gmt":"2017-06-04T08:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=2041"},"modified":"2017-06-04T15:24:14","modified_gmt":"2017-06-04T05:24:14","slug":"1984-touring-theatre-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/1984-touring-theatre-review\/","title":{"rendered":"1984 (touring) &#8211; theatre review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is April 1984. Comrade 6079, Winston Smith (Tom Conroy), has a thought, starts a diary and falls in love, but Big Brother is watching his every move.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You see, he is not allowed to think for himself. He has to tow the party line at all times and subversives are outed and disciplined for thought crimes.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is a world where an invasive government keeps a malevolently watchful eye on all its citizens. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2053\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/1984-01.jpg?resize=560%2C373\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/1984-01.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/1984-01.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/1984-01.jpg?resize=120%2C80&amp;ssl=1 120w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/1984-01.jpg?resize=360%2C240&amp;ssl=1 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/>Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan have created this new adaptation of George Orwell\u2019s iconic dystopian novel, published in 1949, looking back at what happened to the principal character.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The brilliant way <em>1984<\/em> is staged shocks you to your core.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has been seen by more than 400,000 people, with three hugely successful seasons in the West End, extensive UK and US touring and international festival appearances.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That included a sold out season at the 2015 Melbourne Festival.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The story I first encountered as a high school student remains just as compelling all these years later \u2013 as only great writing does.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The performances from the cast are right on the money, breathing life into the fear and vitriol, which underpin the narrative.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The menace of the overseer\/interrogator is palpable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The staging is nothing short of superb \u2013 markedly affecting and effective. It&#8217;s coupled with lighting and at times ear-piercing sound effects.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The designer is Chloe Lamford, lighting designer Natasha Chivers, sound designer Tom Gibbons and video designer Tim Reid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Action happens on various planes \u2013 conventionally, at the front of the stage, above the stage via video footage and (later) at the back of the stage; before all is stripped bare. \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To say any more would be to ruin what for me was, without a doubt, one of the most impactful staging, sound and lighting displays I have had the good fortune to witness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2054\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/1984-02.jpg?resize=560%2C373\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/1984-02.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/1984-02.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/1984-02.jpg?resize=120%2C80&amp;ssl=1 120w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/1984-02.jpg?resize=360%2C240&amp;ssl=1 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/>The production values inculcate Orwell\u2019s prose into your psyche like a jackhammer boring into concrete.\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1984<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a theatrical master class, richly rewarding and highly deserving of acclamation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is playing at the <a href=\"http:\/\/marrinergroup.com.au\/venues\/comedy-theatre\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Comedy Theatre<\/a> in Melbourne until 10<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0June, at Brisbane\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qpac.com.au\/event\/1984_17\/?gclid=CjwKEAjwvMnJBRCO2NSu-Puc6AUSJAAf-OSUOR15WJsK12WWvlyJi0UjpHt2XZNMQU0hFqu7L4V-FRoCvGLw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lyric Theatre<\/a> from 14 to 18 June and in Sydney\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sydneytheatre.com.au\/whats-on\/productions\/2017\/1984\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roslyn Packer Theatre<\/a> between 28 June and 22 July.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It moves to <a href=\"https:\/\/canberratheatrecentre.com.au\/show\/1984\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Canberra Theatre<\/a> from 25 to 29 July, before finishing at <a href=\"http:\/\/ptt.wa.gov.au\/venues\/his-majestys-theatre\/whats-on\/1984\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">His Majesty\u2019s Theatre<\/a> in Perth, where it will be staged between \u00a04 and 13 August 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Alex First<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is April 1984. Comrade 6079, Winston Smith (Tom Conroy), has a thought, starts a diary and falls in love, but Big Brother is watching his every move.\u00a0You see, he is not allowed to think for himself. He has to tow the party line at all times and subversives are outed and disciplined for thought&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[801],"tags":[986,150,3,191,985,38,590,906],"class_list":["post-2041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theatre","tag-986","tag-based-on-a-novel","tag-drama","tag-dystopian","tag-george-orwell","tag-theatre","tag-theatre-review","tag-tour"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>1984 (touring) - theatre review -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/1984-touring-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"1984 (touring) - theatre review -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is April 1984. Comrade 6079, Winston Smith (Tom Conroy), has a thought, starts a diary and falls in love, but Big Brother is watching his every move.\u00a0You see, he is not allowed to think for himself. 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We are in Oceania, where Big Brother rules with an iron fist. What BB says goes. If he says\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rsz_1984-show-8324.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rsz_1984-show-8324.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rsz_1984-show-8324.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rsz_1984-show-8324.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":167176,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/the-machine-stops-theatre-works-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":2041,"position":1},"title":"The Machine Stops (Theatre Works) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"August 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Our worst fears about artificial intelligence are realised in The Machine Stops, which is an adaptation of the 1909 novella by former English author E.M. 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It shares a common conceit with Aldous Huxley\u2019s Brave New World (1932) and George Orwell\u2019s 1984 (1949). \u201cThe Machine\u201d has sent humans underground and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/rsz_the_machine_stops_production_photos-7.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/rsz_the_machine_stops_production_photos-7.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/rsz_the_machine_stops_production_photos-7.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/rsz_the_machine_stops_production_photos-7.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":925,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/httptheblurb-com-aureviewsa-life-in-the-theatre-darlinghurst-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":2041,"position":2},"title":"A Life in the Theatre (Darlinghurst) &#8211; theatre review","author":"David Edwards","date":"May 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A Life in the Theatre, by David Mamet, is an early play (1977) and considerably out of the usual area and style of his more well known genre - of the 'Mamet-speak' with macho, foulmouthed men squabbling over the way to make money; epitomised in his famous Pulitzer Prize winning,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Darlinghurst Theatre\"","block_context":{"text":"Darlinghurst Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/tag\/darlinghurst-theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"a-life-in-the-theatre-01","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/A-Life-in-the-Theatre-01.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/A-Life-in-the-Theatre-01.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/A-Life-in-the-Theatre-01.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4334,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/clockwork-orange-brisbane-arts-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":2041,"position":3},"title":"A Clockwork Orange (Brisbane Arts) &#8211; theatre review","author":"David Edwards","date":"January 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Beethoven\u2019s \"Ode to Joy\" (part of the final movement of his Symphony No. 9) is a thorough examination of the emotion of joy as being heavenly in origin and available to mankind through a loving God. In A Clockwork Orange, however, it represents a thematic extension of 15-year-old protagonist Alex's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Clockwork-Orange-02.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Clockwork-Orange-02.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Clockwork-Orange-02.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Clockwork-Orange-02.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":156899,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/billy-elliot-the-musical-cloc-musical-theatre-musical-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":2041,"position":4},"title":"Billy Elliot The Musical (CLOC Musical Theatre) &#8211; musical theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"May 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Billy Elliot The Musical remains as moving and evocative as when I first saw it at Her Majesty\u2019s Theatre on 1stJanuary, 2009 \u2026 and what a magnificent show it is. For me, this is up there with the best musicals brought to the stage. 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