1984 Immersive Experience @ Hackney Town Hall - Review
Shines a light on Orwell's weakest spots. ★★
At Hackney Town Hall until 22nd December 2024.
Tickets from £24.50, with occasional discounts available.
Rating: ★★
I am not a megafan of 1984, I have my issues with Orwell as a writer, but I was regardless excited for an immersive production. One of the great strength’s of Orwell’s writing is the way he constructs worlds and interlinking networks of characters, so it is prime source material for an immersive experience. Where he tends to fall down is his writing of interpersonal relationships, especially romance- so naturally, that is what this adaptation decided to focus on.
The focus of this production is scenes of the romantic relationship between Winston and Julia. For those not familiar with the text, Winston is a much older man, Julia is young and sexually active and deeply infatuated with him. She is one of the greatest examples of a woman written by a man in the literary canon. Making a real, serious actress play her is almost cruel. Neetika Knight is not terrible in the role, given what she has to work with, but she doesn’t redeem it. Joe Anderson as Winston is unconvincing, he’s an attractive 30-something poorly cast given that they’ve left in dialogue about Winston being unattractive and older.
The frame is that we are potential inductees into the Party, selected based on our background and here to be assessed for prestigious jobs. It is a strong choice, providing opportunities to explore the themes rather than only the substance of the book, but little is made of it. Dominic Carter as O’Brien is excellent at drawing us into the vision of Oceania, and what little audience engagement actually takes place is very artfully done- cast members trying to recruit audience for the Anti-Sex League, conspiritorial plotting in the seat behind… but it’s disappointing how weighted this is towards on-stage performance.
The venue is used interestingly, well but not to it’s full effect. There are two rooms- the Council Chamber and a second events space. The former is used well and perfectly suited to this piece. The latter, where much of the action takes place, would be much better if they didn’t bother with bench seating. The bench seating ensures that most of the audience cannot see, and is not distributed by price band, so you could buy the most expensive seats and still end up at the back. Costuming (Ruth Badila) is very effective, as are soundscape choices, both are generically authoritarian with a British twinge- red banners with the Parliament logo, English folk music, Mao suits with long wool skirts.
Overall, this is a good concept, but it is weighted strongly towards the parts that are poorly executed. The worldbuilding choices are sound and largely well done; much of the plot is scrapped and the weakest thread is kept. Why are we spending so much time watching this cringeworthy romance unfold on stage?
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