{"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_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"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 v28.1 - 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. He has to tow the party line at all times and subversives are outed and disciplined for thought...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/1984-touring-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-04T08:29:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/1984-03.jpg?fit=768%2C512&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Edwards\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Edwards\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theblurb.com.au\\\/wp\\\/1984-touring-theatre-review\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theblurb.com.au\\\/wp\\\/1984-touring-theatre-review\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"David Edwards\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theblurb.com.au\\\/wp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5b6e71c52b0c61f2ea361d202fc6c8da\"},\"headline\":\"1984 (touring) &#8211; 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Stir Theatre Company) at Comedy Theatre and touring &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"July 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"While I sincerely wish it weren\u2019t so, the power struggles the proliferate globally ensure that Shake & Stir\u2019s brilliant adaptation of George Orwell\u2019s prescient and dystopian novel 1984 appear chillingly real. We are in Oceania, where Big Brother rules with an iron fist. What BB says goes. 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Forster. 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":156899,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/billy-elliot-the-musical-cloc-musical-theatre-musical-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":2041,"position":2},"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. It is based on the successful\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/rsz_a-1225-enhanced-nr.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\/2024\/05\/rsz_a-1225-enhanced-nr.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/rsz_a-1225-enhanced-nr.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/rsz_a-1225-enhanced-nr.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":160137,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/volition-theatre-works-explosives-factory-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":2041,"position":3},"title":"Volition (Theatre Works&#8217; Explosives Factory) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"September 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Competition can be invigorating, but also dramatic and soul destroying. That is the theme of the two parter created under the auspices of Theatre Works\u2019 Early Career Artists' Program. As you enter the theatre for Part I, named The Volition Project, you are handed several tokens by one of the\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\/2024\/09\/rsz_1volitionproject-23.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/rsz_1volitionproject-23.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/rsz_1volitionproject-23.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/rsz_1volitionproject-23.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":144249,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/amadeus-sydney-opera-house-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":2041,"position":4},"title":"Amadeus (Sydney Opera House) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Greg King","date":"January 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This re-imagined production of Peter Schaffer\u2019s Tony Award winning drama about the fictional rivalry between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri is being staged as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for the Sydney Opera House. Classical music and opera are incorporated into Schaffer\u2019s drama. Snippets of Mozart\u2019s famous compositions\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\/2023\/01\/rsz_amadeus_sydney-opera-house_credit-daniel-boud_061.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rsz_amadeus_sydney-opera-house_credit-daniel-boud_061.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rsz_amadeus_sydney-opera-house_credit-daniel-boud_061.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rsz_amadeus_sydney-opera-house_credit-daniel-boud_061.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":155529,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/riverdance-25th-anniversary-show-touring-music-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":2041,"position":5},"title":"Riverdance 25th Anniversary Show (touring) &#8211; music theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"April 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Scintillating and sensational. Riverdance is back and how!\u00a0It has been more than a decade since this Irish originated troupe last visited Australia (they toured five times between 1997 and 2012) and this is their 25th anniversary show.\u00a0First coming together for a seven-minute performance at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rsz_7_qxsv0t.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rsz_7_qxsv0t.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rsz_7_qxsv0t.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rsz_7_qxsv0t.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}