Once again Hackney's 1930s Town Hall will host an immersive theatrical version of George Orwell's dystopian classic 1984.
Following a successful run last year, the site specific show - where the audience are recruits of the Ministry of Truth - returns with fresh audiovisual, lighting, and video effects.
There's also a new cast, including Game of Thrones' Dominic Carter as O'Brien and Joe Anderson (Twilight, Hannibal, The Grey) as Winston.
Incoming director Jack Reardon talks about bringing Big Brother to Mare Street.
Q: Why is Hackney Town Hall a good setting for Orwell’s story?
A: As soon as you enter the town hall, it hits you. The magnitude of the space, the power, the grandeur of it. It really does feel like something out of an Orwell novel. The marble staircases, the impact of the chandeliers in the chamber space upstairs where local councillors sit in session. They've been incredible hosts to allow us to use their space.
When audiences sit in the council chamber or in the atrium, which we've transformed, the design of the building has given us so much priceless design - we couldn't have built anything better.
Q: What do you think an immersive staging brings to this world of total surveillance?
A: It makes them feel far more connected to the story and adds an additional level of liveness and aliveness to a regular theatre event. They are very much with us in this experience. There's more at stake for them, more jeopardy, and they might feel complicit in some of the action and ponder: "What would I do in this situation?"
Q: What elements have you added to enhance that experience?
A: We have a sensational design team on this round of the production. We've really invested in the design aspect with an incredible AV (audiovisual) designer. Our lighting and sound design bring the world to life in a more visceral way and we're using live cameras to bring that idea of surveillance from the novel into the production. We've got a lot of surprises on how to make those elements tangible for an audience in ways that they might not experience in a regular theatre. The show will be a very, visceral experience.
Q: What was your first experience of 1984 and why do you think this idea of being monitored and influenced continues to resonate?
A: Like so many, we were introduced to 1984 in school. Often when you say "1984" people say "Oh, I think I read that". It feels like it's broken through the zeitgeist of pop culture and has instilled itself in the minds of people, whether they've read it or not, which is very Orwellian in itself.
It's always been a text I've wanted to explore on stage, so to get to do it is very exciting. It continues to be relevant. We have entered into Orwell's dystopian future in many ways. Ideas of surveillance, totalitarianism, which existed in Orwell's 1940s, when he was writing it, you don't have to look too far to see today. This isn't a play of the novel, this is very much a 1984 for an audience today.
Q: What do you hope audiences take away from it?
A: It's that same idea of audiences reflecting and recognizing some of these themes in their world around them. I hope they are excited by it and scared by it and will be blown away by it. It's a theatre production that will be unlike anything else in the vicinity so if you want an event rather than just a theatre show come and see it!
Pure Expression's Immersive 1984 at Hackney Town Hall, runs from 1 October to 22 December.
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