‘Big Brother is watching’: 1984 is in Cambridge at the American Repertory Theater
An adaptation of the novel runs through March 6.
You may remember George Orwell’s 1984 from high school required reading. The American Repertory Theater in Cambridge is giving audiences a chance to revisit the dystopian novel (originally published in 1949) with a fresh look.
The new adaptation, created and directed by Robert Icke and and Duncan Macmillan, got its start at the Headlong Theater Company in the United Kingdom. Their reimagining of Orwell’s world where “war is peace’’ and “freedom is slavery’’ is running at the Cambridge theater through March 6.
The play follows Orwell’s plot—in which Winston Smith “thinks a thought, starts a diary, and falls in love,’’ while Big Brother is watching and the world is constantly in a state of war—but takes some liberties by bending time and channeling the novel’s appendix, according to WBUR.
Though the novel was written decades ago, its themes still hit nerves today. The American Repertory Theater tweeted out Apple’s recent customer letter about how the government wants the company to crack its encryption data as an example.
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“At every period of history, a different bit of [1984] has come into focus, which I suppose in some ways is characteristic of great art,’’ Icke told WBUR, “but, I think—particularly now—it’s our fears about being recorded, about the way we sign away our privacy, about what liberty means, but also about the distrust of the systems which govern.’’
The play runs for 101 minutes and comes with a warning that it contains “depictions of torture, violence, loud noises, and flashing lights,’’ so it is not recommended for students under 16, according to the theater. Tickets are available starting at $25.
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