1984 @ Melbourne International Arts Festival

Okay, let's make this quick because I am not in the mood for writing at the moment (hence the dramatic drop in posting recently).

Saw Tim Robbins' (yes, that Tim Robbins) production of Orwell's 1984 the other night with Andrews.

First act was fantastic. The whole story was staged in the interrogation room with Winston and five interrogators. It made for an interesting take on the novel, as the interrogators, as they were acting out Winston's diary, would get caught up in the emotions and the "crimes" that he had committed. The device brought a neatly human edge to the production.

At half-time Richard came by and complained to us about the sound. Apparently, he was finding it difficult to hear what was going on even though he was closer to the stage. One of Andrew's friends was doing something officially Arts Festivalish and told us that an "influential member of the arts community" had complained and that they were trying to fix the sound. I hope that was our Man About Town.

Anyways, the second act wasn't quite as successful. Unfortunately, when it came time for the visit to Room 101, they actually visited Room 101. Personally, I would have thought that it would have made more sense to the internal logic of the show to have been noting that the interrogation was already taking place there. It is silly that something as small as this can ruin a show but it did, mainly because it made the second act less tight and more artistically sloppy.

I'd recommend it to you anyway, or at least I would have if it hadn't already closed.

Oh, and I was disappointed that nobody was evicted throughout the evening. I was hoping for some audience participation, an sms number or the like. Honestly, these theatre types are too highbrow.

Tags: theatre, theater, Orwell