1984

Audiences will always approach well-known stories with certain expectations. When attending a production of 1984, one expects bleak tension, oppression and heartbreak (I’d packed the tissues). The dystopian play that’s sprung forth from Orwell’s well-known novel needs to make an audience feel uncomfortable. We need to be reminded of the horrors of authoritarianism and totalitarianism. In these hectic, Trump-troubled times of fake news and propaganda, where people Facebook before breakfast and news media whips people into frenzies of fear and hate, the message should resonate even more than usual.

Unfortunately, I had set my expectations a little too high for this particular production of the tale. While the acting of Chris Batkin (Winston) and Jessica Stansfield (Julia) was quite strong individually, the love interests didn’t share much palpable chemistry. As a result, it was difficult to care about the characters’ predicaments.

There was some disparity in the direction of the acting styles. Richard Lund did a lovely, realistic job as O’Brien, bringing the most of that intensity I was hoping to see. While Ashley Rae Little as Parsons played her part enthusiastically, but in a sort of musical theatre style with a wandering accent and Katrina Devery as the landlady played hers in farce.

Directorially speaking this one may have benefitted from a firmer stance on acting style, accent choices and genre, or even a unique interpretation that shattered preconceptions and avoided comparison to other productions.

The pace was a little too slow on the evening I attended. I did notice a few technical glitches so perhaps that had something to do with it. The combination of slow delivery and incongruence in acting made it somewhat hard to stay alert and focussed on the show.

The aforementioned technical glitches included some poorly timed sound cues and incorrect lighting states quickly being switched to the correct ones (especially apparent just prior to interval). The ‘Big Brother’ voiceover also raised cognitive dissonance due to poor sound quality and the ‘Aussie ocker’ accent.

The set and costuming was utilitarian and did nothing to detract from the performance. The digital set design was particularly appropriate and effective. At times the blocking of the actors was problematic and didn’t really make great use of the space. Perhaps they had rehearsed in a smaller room than the Schonell stage and found it hard to adapt to the extra distance.

Rather than feeling discouraged by my critique, I’d encourage the cast and crew to continue honing their craft. Every time you step on stage, flick on a light, or direct a show is a chance to do better than before.

Kiesten McCauley