1984
Big Brother Is Watching You
1984
by GEORGE ORWELL
Adapted by NICK HERN
18-25 OCT 2025
Main Stage
Winston Smith is in prison, found guilty of Thoughtcrimes against Big Brother. As part of his reconstruction, he must re-enact key moments from his past life, with the help of other thought criminals, so that everyone can learn from his mistakes; including his biggest mistake of all, falling in love with Julia.
Orwell's classic dystopia 1984 is a still-resonant vision of the toll of living under Communism. Constructed almost entirely from dialogue taken from the original novel first published in 1949, this bold and powerful dramatisation restores the blazing heart of Orwell's work: a doomed love story, with ordinary people trapped within a structure of 'controlled sanity'.
1984 warns against the rise of authoritarian figures who charm and beguile the masses into exchanging freedoms for an easier life of letting Big Brother take over.
This amateur production of “1984” is presented by arrangement with Nick Hern Books.