Jun
21
I don’t see enough plays. A few years ago, I used to go all the time. There are so many great theatres in and around the L.A.-area. I prefer the smaller venues. The ticket prices are a tad steeper than a movie — usually around $15 - $18 — but you’re pretty much guaranteed solid performances across the board and maybe a famous face or two.
This afternoon, I went to see a stage production of “1984″ at the Redcat in Downtown L.A.
I’d somehow managed to get through high school without having read George Orwell’s novel. Only last year did I get around to finally reading it and loved every prescient page. Shortly after, I tracked down the out-of-print DVD of the film, starring John Hurt and Richard Burton and Suzannah Hamilton’s naughty bits. I found the movie entertaining, but a fairly dry and straightforward adaptation. The trouble with realizing the book on film is that so much of Winston Smith’s conflict is internal. He spends a lot of his time reading and writing, somewhat boring activities on film. But all the sex and torture scenes manage to spice things up a bit.
The stageplay, directed by Tim Robbins, retains the spirit of the novel, but strips everything down to one location — a holding cell in the bowels of the Ministry of Love where Smith stands accused of his numerous thoughtcrimes. Shaved bald, looking half-starved and wearing blood-stained undergarments, the actor portraying Smith is shackled to the floor and harangued by four party members as well as the booming, omnipresent voice of Big Brother. Passages from his diary are read back to him and key scenes from the novel are reenacted. Ultimately, Smith is hauled into room 101 and tortured further by O’Brien, where he learns that two plus two equals five and to stop worrying and love Big Brother.
The stage has its own set of limitations, but unlike film, allows for the audience to use their imagination to a greater degree. I was sort of disappointed that all the action was limited to the holding cell. I would’ve liked the structure of the novel to have remained in place and more locations to have been used: Winston’s apartment, his cubicle at the Ministry of Truth, the room in the Prole district where he and Julia meet in secret, O’Brien’s apartment, etc. The same backdrop of the holding cell could’ve remained part of the background (thematically it would’ve worked brilliantly), but a few tables and chairs and the audience’s imagination could’ve gone a long way in building a larger world.
With the story being described more or less in series of flashbacks, the conflict doesn’t necessarily rise and the character beats seem much more anecdotal. Stretching out Smith’s interrogation over two hours is also a bit exhausting with all the yelling and screaming and electrocuting that’s going on.
Robbins does bring a few contemporary touches to the production. The party members are wearing Oceania lapel pins, and the words “terrorist” and “homeland” find their way into the script several times. Yet I’m surprised Smith wasn’t wearing an orange jumpsuit, and I guess waterboarding was too messy. Despite my nitpicks, I did in fact enjoy the stage version of “1984.” You could say I had a plus-good time taking in a little theatre this weekend.
-Brad Lohan
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