It's been a book, a film, an opera, and a cultural phenomenon, with an influence to large to be measured. But until now, 1984 — George Orwell's tale of Winston Smith, a man living in a society consumed by endless war, all-pervading surveillance and hatred — had never been adapted for the stage in Australia.
Finally, the story will come to life at QPAC's Cremorne Theatre, and Ross Balbuziente (co-artistic director) is extremely happy with the results.
“It's a huge challenge that really excites us. We did Animal Farm [George Orwell] last year and I guess the same pressure was on our shoulders when we created that show, as it was also the first Australian adaptation. It has given us the courage to take on 1984.”
Ross feels that the audience will bear witness to a unique piece of theatre. Whilst staying true to the original book, the work will play with the concepts of perpetual fear, tension and surveillance.
“We don't believe this style [of theatre] has been seen often in Brisbane, or indeed Australia. We have 12 huge plasma screens, as technology and surveillance obviously play a major role in 1984, so it's great to be able to play around with those mediums.
"It presents us with a lot of challenges, but also with some fantastic opportunities to explore the concept of constant surveillance. The screens will be present throughout the entire production, as they are in Oceana [the land in which 1984 is set].”
For the upcoming run of shows in Brisbane, Ross and his company counterparts have assembled the majority of the cast and crew of the very well received Animal Farm.
“It is really exciting to be able to bring almost the entire creative team back. For example Bryan Probets, who played Squealer so fantastically in Animal Farm, is back as Winston Smith.”
The audience will be subjected to the darkest moments of the novel in an extremely visceral manner.
“It's so great to explore Room 101, a torture chamber in the Ministry of Love. Room 101 is about your worst fears, nothing compares once the doors shut! The themes throughout the show are fairly dark, although the torture scenes are by far the most horrific moments. But that constant fear of being caught via thought crime is really petrifying.”
Alongside his work as co-artistic director, Ross will “be playing a collection of colleagues, associates and friends of Winston Smith” and is very happy to “wear multiple hats” during the production.
“I enjoy every aspect of creating theatre, so it is a happy thing that I get to explore all facets of producing, creating and staging theatre and what excites me is theatre I would love to see as an audience member. This is a great opportunity to be able to create that theatre and bring such an epic story to Brisbane.”
Comparing the modern classic to Shakespeare, Ross explains that “reinterpreting classics is a passion of mine and the company's. Whether you are dealing with Shakespeare, the greatest playwright ever, or Orwell, the similarities are there.
"They have both given us plots, sub plots and characters that are so multidimensional. When you're given such juicy material to begin with, it’s such a joy as an actor to be able to delve into those characters and their emotional journey.”
Ross, and the company as a whole, are very thankful to play such a functional role in Queensland's arts scene.
“We're really proud, as an independent company, to be providing professional work opportunities for some of Queensland's and the country's most acclaimed artists, both crew and cast.”
He is aware that this kind of venture is not without its pitfalls.
“It's a risk producing theatre of this scale with this many employees, but when it all works and it all comes together, it is worth it.”
1984 runs at Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, from Aug 16 to Sep 1.
