George Orwell’s 1984, a five star student production

Rebecca Hatton’s (U6HJ) debut directorial production of 1984 premiered at the Vanbrugh Theatre last week and for anyone who missed it, this was a superb piece of student theatre. Possibly one of Rebecca’s greatest achievements was her ability to distil Orwell’s dystopian narrative to just under an hour in length and the end result was a fast-paced, exciting and harrowing audience experience. Mr Mannix’s lighting, sound and video design must be commended for its ability to not only shock the senses but also achieve swift transitions between scenes. There was also some fine acting notably by Edward Ramsey (U6HJ) who played protagonist Winston Smith’s torture sequences with an unnerving amount of realism. Eleri Reece-Jones (U6NH) was appropriately strong and defiant as Julia whilst Barney Rule’s (U6JR) O’Brien simmered with calm and calculating menace.

Rebecca and her team should be congratulated on yet another impressive sixth-form Michaelmas production and we look forward to revisiting this production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next year, where 1984 will play at the Greenside Theatre from 23 – 26 August.