Imagine a world where people cannot speak freely, where leaders are not held accountable, where constant war rages against an unseen enemy.
Welcome to “1984,” George Orwell’s prescient portrait of an oppressive, totalitarian society. In February, The Actors’ Gang — an experimental Los Angeles troupe led by artistic director and Academy Award-winner Tim Robbins — will present a new stage adaptation of Orwell’s dystopic classic at Edison Theatre.
Performances, sponsored as part of the Edison Theatre OVATIONS! Series, begin at 8 p.m. Feb. 16-17.
“1984” tells the story of Winston Smith (played by Brent Hinkley), a London functionary for the government of Oceana, one of three sprawling regimes that dominate the globe.
Though Winston works for the tyrannical Ministry of Truth, he secretly flirts with independent thinking.
Even more dangerously, he falls in love with the rebellious, promiscuous Julia (played by Kaili Hollister). Yet the couple’s brief affair is soon uncovered and both are sent to the Ministry of Love for “reprogramming.”
The Actors’ Gang production is directed by Robbins and based on a script by Michael Gene Sullivan, head writer for the Tony Award-winning Mime Troupe in San Francisco.
“I was so excited by his framing of the story, his ability to make the material resonate,” Robbins said.
He also was “floored by its relevance, its insight, its warnings, and unfortunately realized that this book was more vibrant and necessary now than it had ever been,” he said.
“What Orwell is talking about is totalitarianism of the mind, where free will and free thought is viewed as a threat to the overall safety of the state,” Robbins added. “The citizens of all nation-states readily comply with the wishes of the state, however compromising it is to their personal freedom, because of the danger they perceive that they are in.
“Big Brother rules through fear,” Robbins concluded. “Big Brother provides no vision of the future other than a promise of ultimate victory and perpetual war.”
Robbins co-founded The Actors’ Gang in 1982. The company is dedicated to creating bold, original and socially relevant works for the stage, as well as daring reinterpretations of classic works.
Tickets are $30; $25 for seniors, faculty and staff; and $18 for students and children.
For more information, call 935-6543 or visit edisontheatre.wustl.edu.