Theatre Review - 1984 (Tower Theatre Company)

Big Brother is watching you.

Invitation to a preview of Tower Theatre Company's take on 1984 should not be treated lightly. Big Brother misses nothing, after all, and with a production this immersive, the Thought Police might have come knocking on my door, had I refused. Based on Matthew Dunster's adaptation of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel, the Tower production takes charge of its audience members quite literally, from the moment they arrive at the Theatro Technis door. You're here to see a play? Prepare instead for induction into the Ministry of Truth. You're about to be processed. 

Don't panic - that's the fun part, nothing more of which I'll give away here. Much better to experience it yourself. It's what follows on stage that will really prove challenging - in the most powerful and exhausting way. 

For those only loosely acquainted with the novel, I'll go light on spoilers... 

Winston Smith is a worn-down citizen of Oceania, working for the Ministry of Truth. His life, along with those of his fellow-citizens, is rigidly controlled by The Party, his every move surveilled by the omnipresent Big Brother. To all appearances a model Party member, Winston privately jots down rebellious fantasies, the discovery of which would earn him death or worse. Meanwhile two figures draw his attention - O'Brien, a fellow Ministry worker who he feels might be a kindred spirit, and Julia - a dark-haired girl who inspires in him both hatred and desire. Together they draw him to a crisis point, where he must choose whether or not to risk all and take a stand against Big Brother. 

Taking on Orwell's fiendishly inventive novel is ambitious in itself, and ambition of a near-crazy variety is this production's defining characteristic. Theatro Technis has been physically transformed into the Ministry of Truth, the play's multi-media presentation churning out Party propaganda from the moment you enter. The boiler-suited cast members are terse, or officious, or oppressively earnest in their commitment to Big Brother - and then the play proper kicks in... 

It's this production's physical aspects that plunge us most effectively into Winston's world. The ensemble brims with militaristic fervour; its members work together as an impressive, joyless machine, the hero trapped as one of its parts. Winston's claustrophobia is tangible throughout - light, sound and movement meshing to produce a sense of his internalised panic more effectively than the play's words ever could. The Party's intrusion into his home life is captured with similar ingenuity - the hero's paranoid diary-scribbling and the turmoil of his dreams are visual highlights amid a whirl of invention.

His attempts to connect with Julia only ratchet up the tension. It's all the fevered promise of an affair, one with insanely high stakes. The moments where the couple attempt to escape Big Brother's eye so they can be together are palpably thrilling. Having immersed us in Winston's grim day-to-day existence, this opening act offers us a tantalising sense of hope and exhilaration, even if it may only be fleeting. Then act two tightens the play's focus and takes us to a  place 'where there is no darkness'. It's a dramatic tour de force that audiences will remember for long after they leave the theatre. And you can take that to the bank.

Paul Graves captures all of Winston's hangdog misery and desperation from the opening moments, while Chloe Ledger is a defiant contrast, full of brash sensuality and mischief. They're a pair to root for - the heart of the production, and one you hope against reason will not get cruelly ripped out. As O'Brien, Martin South is understated and enigmatic, his placid exterior hinting at unfathomable depths beneath. And the world of these central characters is populated by an ensemble that brings their existence to grim life with sheer commitment to Oceania's dystopian madness. Check out all that glassy-eyed devotion to Big Brother and know that you're somewhere very scary indeed.

1984 as a novel is furiously inventive, grimly funny and ultimately devastating in its critique of humanity's most power-hungry instincts. It celebrates personal expression, eroticism, love and life, while raging against forces that crush dissent and rewrite history to suit its own controlling ends. The highest praise I can give to director Angharad Ormond, her cast and production team, is that they capture all of this, and do so magnificently. Whether you're intimately acquainted with Orwell's tale or coming to it fresh, this 1984 will rob you of your breath. Good luck getting it back.

Tower Theatre Company's 1984 will run at Theatro Technis, Camden from Wednesday 28th February to Saturday 10th March (for full dates and times click here), and will include two post-performance Q and A sessions, one of them with George Orwell's adopted son Richard Blair. Tickets are available from the Tower Box Office. 

Keep your thoughts to yourself. Don't betray them with a look or a glance. Big Brother is watching you.