George Orwell’s 1949 published classic 1984 continues to prove a prescient and worryingly relevant text as Belarussian production company withintheatre’s adaptation this Edinburgh Festival Fringe proves. This impressively faithful portrayal of the dystopian classic draws numerous parallels to the political climate in Belarus, whilst providing bold performances and focussed staging of the text.
1984 sees Winston Smith interrogated by the Ministry of Love where his dissent against Big Brother is challenged. Smith recounts his journey, which is recreated by other prisoners in the Ministry, before Smith is subject to torture in Room 101 to make sure he is compliant with the politics of the dystopian regime.
Sofia Barysevich directs this production which uses the inventive twists of Nick Hern’s stage version to ensure it fits the confines of a sixty minute stage production. The director inventively uses the fellow prisoners of the Ministry of Love to recreate Smith’s dissent with key moments of Smith’s journey from his dutiful work in Records Department to political prisoner. Using prisoners to recreate the story, allows for a chaotic and unsettled edge to be channelled – with the riotous prisoner characters adding their own unhinged mannerisms and physicality to the tale. This recounts key moments such as Winston and Julia’s meeting and growing romance, finding ‘safe haven’ in Mr Charrington’s shop, receiving Goldstein’s rebelious book from party bigwig O’Brien, and ultimately torture in Room 101. Barysevich breaks the story down to its punchy key components, allowing it to be told effectively in sixty minutes.
The cast bring a true edge to the production. Winston Smith is portrayed with a quiet dissolution by Faiaz Valiullin, resigning himself to his fate at the Ministry. Igor Laskiy is a standout in the reconstructions, capturing Winston’s hope and desire of freedom – yet maintaining a slight unease in our awareness that this is a prisoner playing this role. Ivan Ivashkin is commanding as O’Brien, directing events with an austere glare, whilst Anastasia Aush embodies the hope of Julia in her portrayal. Kolya Mulakov is delightfully unhinged in the role of an animalistic inmate involved in the reconstructions.
Barysevich captures the bristling tension and unease of Orwell’s classic, the claustrophobic confines of the Ministry of Love and the suspicion surrounding many of the characters simmering throughout. Production design from Sonya Bleiph creates an imposing, darkened atmosphere in the Ministry within the Summerhall stage, whilst the adaptation manages to capture the dystopian horrors through effective use of lighting and sound design. Bringing handheld camera visuals which appear on a large screen on the set, also makes for an unsettling yet energetic atmosphere capturing the chaotic behaviour of the prisoners in the Ministry.
Made up of a cast and crew from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, 1984 taps into some prescient social and political issues. Using a projected screen in the background, contemporary issues of censorship and the limiting of personal and political freedoms are shared with the audience. Issues of wire tapping, political prisoners and planes being forced to land are displayed, drawing parallels to the authoritarian state in 1984 with contemporary Belarus. This gives the project an even more timely and urgent relevance.
With its gripping performances and inventive staging, withintheatre’s adaptation of 1984 not only honours Orwell’s classic but also casts a chilling light on the authoritarian shadows of today’s Belarus, making this production a haunting reminder of the enduring fight for freedom
Tickets to 1984 can be purchased here.
Lead photo: Ole Hoff