Review: 1984, Theatre Royal Bath – ‘An outstanding production’

For this bleakly compelling production, Theatre Royal Bath Productions have secured the very talented writer and director duo, Ryan Craig and Lindsay Posner. This year alone, we’ve been treated to Posner’s work in A View from the Bridge with Dominic West and Rattigan’s The Deep Blue Sea with Tamsin Greig. This show’s unstarry star is stage and screen’s ever-sinister Keith Allen, who last chilled Bath to the core in The Homecoming.

Orwell’s depressing dystopian fable has given rise to countless retellings; to take it on is a brave challenge. Craig’s script and Posner’s direction hammer home Orwell’s disturbing message by leveraging the unique combination of live audience, modern tech, and good old-fashioned theatrical light and sound. What do I mean? Read on…

The audience walk in to see a stage that’s dominated by a live roaming camera-screen in the shape of an eye. Almost the height and width of backdrop, the eye is almost always visible. Until the show begins, the eye searches the auditorium, zooming around, looking at YOU. Yes: you.

And then, the story begins: Winston Smith’s confession of his thought crimes into a tablet, which airs on the eye-screen-backdrop. A disembodied voice quizzes him, and the horrible tale of complete control unfolds.

1984 – Keith Allen as O’Brien and Mark Quartley as Winston

I want to credit the tech team before celebrating the cast. They are our conjurors, and in harmony with the actors, have created a full-immersion production. This is one of those works where you forget to look for the joins – rare when you’re a reviewer.

Justin Nardella’s set, costume and video design set the ideal hollow tone. Paul Plyant’s lighting and Giles Thomas’s sound, alongside his and Robert Sword’s music composition are immaculate. Congrats to them and their teams: this world-making is exemplary. They use the newest techniques to engage and convince – and then the oldest of all to disturb us to our core – very much, in fact, like Big Brother.

Eleanor Wyld as Julia, Keith Allen as O’Brien, Mark Quartley as Winston, David Birrell as Parsons

The cast works on two levels: live and recorded. You’ll see Mathew Horne, Nicholas Woodeson and Doña Croll appearing on screens, for the live cast to interact with, adding to the seamlessness of a world – like ours – where ‘reality’ and ‘screen’ have melded.

On stage, Mark Quarterly is an excellent Winston, and Eleanor Wyld a gloriously watchable Julia. Neighbour Parsons is played by David Birrell – and he stole the show for me. He’s the true heart of the story – a weak everyman who’s grassed up by the seven-year-old he brought up to be so loyal. Birrell’s Parsons is the object lesson – the dark light we all need to heed – at the heart of this adaptation.

Eleanor Wyld as Julia and Mark Quartley as Winston

Keith Allen is O’Brien, the face of the Party and Big Brother’s man on earth. Allen’s trademark ‘full disturbia’ wasn’t in play for press night, but I think and hope it will come. The show runs at a fair and impressive pace, making slow nuance a tricky thing to achieve.

This is an outstanding production. It’s not fun; of course it’s not. But I don’t think you will ever see as penetrating and chillingly relevant 1984. It’s 14+, and rightly. Get your tickets now, before the likely West End run takes this out of your reach.

Mark Quartley as Winston

1984 is at Theatre Royal Bath from September 20-28; times vary. Tickets are available at www.theatreroyal.org.uk.

All photos: Simon Annand

Read next:

• Review: Animal Farm, Theatre Royal Bath – ‘It may stay with you for a lifetime’
• Review: Welcome to the Future – ‘Circus with a message’
• Watch: Bristol crumbles in dystopian timelapse film