Arts:Blog

Theatre Review: 1984 (****)

Michael Cox reviews 'a highly engrossing' adaptation of a classic.

George Orwell’s 1984 is an indisputable classic: a morality tale that’s as much warning as it is social commentary. That many of its predictions have come true might not bode well for our supposedly free society, even if the political landscape has changed somewhat since its initial publishing.

Any adaptation is tricky business—distilling a full novel into a two-hour running time is going to require exorcising material and playing with shape. Adapters and directors Robert Icke & Duncan Macmillan have done one better: to not only adapt 1984 but to take great influence from the much ignored appendix, which hints at the fall of the very powers that seem to triumph at the end and hero Winston Smith’s apparent importance after the fact.

It’s a brave interpretation, one that works wonderfully well. The action comes thick and fast, with Matthew Spencer’s Smith coming across as meek, confused by what’s happening in the beginning, only for events to shape him into a doomed yet passionate revolutionary. His is a standout performance in a standout production, an excellent marriage of great ensemble work and wonderful theatrics.

Much of this is down to Icke and Macmillan’s direction. The action is quick, sometimes playing out as a thriller fogged in foreboding that pays off with moments of horror. Their intense staging is made all the more potent from the excellent design, which mixes lighting effects, video and an eerie soundscape that culminates in a finale that is almost unbearable to witness.

And yet, though in keeping with the bleak atmosphere of the novel, the play is highly watchable—particularly for those already familiar with the source material. This, in fact, might be this production’s one flaw: those going into the play with little to no knowledge of Orwell’s plot and characters might be a bit lost—clarity is sometimes sacrificed for impressionable theatrics.

Be that as it may, 1984 is still a highly engrossing production, a worthy adaptation of a classic novel that is certainly worth the hype that has followed it.

1984 performs at Citizens Theatre in Glasgow until September 6 before continuing its UK tour.