Review of the BAC production of 1984
By Victoria / Spinebreakers Crew
Being lost for words is one of those rare occasions when the mind fails to provide an adjective as to how one feels in response to a certain stimuli. The BAC production of 1984 produced just that response.
Upon entering the theatre, I found myself submerged in an ensemble of mismatched furniture and art, which instantly created a wondrous setting for such a performance as 1984. There was an air of grandeur, yet it graciously lacked pomposity and instead a captivating sense of welcoming was dispersed throughout the air like a glorious perfume. This was most certainly quite unlike any theatre I had previously entered.
In hindsight, that seemed to foreshadow the incredible performance I was soon to witness, which was itself quite unlike any show I had ever graced my eyes with. The straightforward, blunt interpretation was quite a shock to the system, and as a result of this I found myself quite detached from the show for the majority of the first half, and in fact I spent most of the interval coming to terms with the style in which the novel was being presented.
For those out of the loop, 1984 was a book written by the highly acclaimed George Orwell in 1948, also known for his novel Animal Farm. Its plot follows Winston Smith in a futuristic (for the time) dystopian society in which the Thought Police are King and Big Brother is God. It's central themes are that of oppression, hopelessness and Winston's search for some form of resistance – and so taking all this in to consideration, as I did in the interval, I began to realise why the straightforward style of drama was selected as appropriate. The style itself highlighted just how forceful Big Brother was intended to be portrayed, and how small and confused Winston seems up against this nightmare. The entire performance just screams “THIS IS BIG BROTHER. THIS IS OPPRESSION.”.
So overall? Well, it does stay fairly true to the book which is always a plus. There is comedy which helps to lighten the mood, yet does not detract from the plot. I find myself arriving at the same conclusion now as I did when I sat with my mouth gaping wide in a most unattractive manner at the end of the show, not quite sure what I'd just seen. There is no way to describe it. Shocking, possibly. Moving, certainly. Good? I'd have to say that you just have to see it to believe it.