George Orwell News

Due to popular demand, Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) extends the critically acclaimed production of George Orwell's 1984, adapted by Andrew White and directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon. Hailed as "highly recommended…chilling, hard-hitting" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "a skillful blend of grimy proletariat despair and slick multimedia collage" (Chicago Tribune), 1984 adds three additional public performances, extending the run through November 21, 2015 in Steppenwolf's Upstairs Theatre with the original cast. Tickets ($20; $15 with student ID) to the added performances are now on sale through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St) at 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the highly anticipated Chicago premiere production of Annie Baker's The Flick, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Directed by Dexter Bullard, the cast features Will Allan, Danny McCarthy, Caroline Neff and Travis Turner. The Flick runs February 4 - May 8, 2016 in the Upstairs Theatre. Tickets ($20 - $89) are now on sale through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted), 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

Barter Theatre unveils the 2016 production schedule with a behind-the-scenes preview of what the next season has in store. Producing Artistic Director Richard Rose announces an exciting season filled with comedy, drama and many world-famous shows patrons will recognize from their silver-screen adaptations.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults' production of 1984 opens on Collette Pollard's stark, barren set. No objects are present onstage, except for plain wooden sets of drawers on the perimeter and two prison cell-like spaces up above. The stage itself sets the tone for the narrative of what has been described as a "negative utopia": the regimented society that George Orwell laid out in his classic 1949 aimed to suppress original thought and feeling. Orwell's vision for the future was not ideal and optimistic but rather extremely bleak in its depiction of future society. With direction by Hallie Gordon, Andrew White's adaptation of 1984 effectively and clearly tells the story of this oppressive and startling vision of the fictional nation Oceania (a hybrid of the United States and the United Kingdom). As Joseph A. Burke's clever and expertly executed projections bombard audiences with images bordering on a fitting sensory overload, we certainly have the sense that Big Brother is watching over us all.

On the heels of a sold-out production of George Orwell's Animal Farm last season, Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) begins the 2015/16 season with another Orwellian masterpiece, 1984. Adapted by Andrew White and directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon, 1984 receives a multi-media production that is a haunting, shockingly timely look at a future that seems disturbingly present. Performances began October 21 and continue through November 20, 2015 in the Upstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St); the press performance is Saturday, October 24 at 3pm. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

On the heels of a sold-out production of George Orwell's Animal Farm last season, Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) begins the 2015/16 season with another Orwellian masterpiece, 1984. Adapted by Andrew White and directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon, Orwell's 1984 receives a cutting-edge, multi-media production with projection design by Joseph A. Burke and photography direction by Joel Moorman. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal below!

The upcoming 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death on April 23, 1616, sets the stage for the Shakespeare Theatre Company's (STC's) 2015-2016 ReDiscovery Series, which features readings of works by four prominent living authors who provide contemporary responses to Shakespeare's life and plays.

On the heels of a sold-out production of George Orwell's Animal Farm last season, Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) begins the 2015/16 season with another Orwellian masterpiece, 1984. Adapted by Andrew White and directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon, Orwell's 1984 receives a cutting-edge, multi-media production with projection design by Joseph A. Burke and photography direction by Joel Moorman. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal below!

Our Town by Thornton Wilder runs live on stage at the brand new Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction, VT, October 7 through 31. For tickets and information, call 802-296-7000 or visit www.northernstage.org. Tickets start at $15.

As Steppenwolf Theatre Company enters its 40th anniversary season, the Steppenwolf Associates -- a group of highly motivated and passionate young professionals -- kick off the fall season with a new event, UNLOCKED: 1984.

Our Town by Thornton Wilder runs live on stage at the brand new Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction, VT, October 7 through 31. For tickets and information, call 802-296-7000 or visit www.northernstage.org. Tickets start at $15.

Northern Ballet return to Sheffield with a thrilling adaptation of George Orwell's cult novel 1984, adapted and choreographed by Bradford-born Jonathan Watkins, from Tuesday 20 - Saturday 24 October at the Lyceum Theatre.

 Idle Muse Theatre Company was recently informed that The Factory Theater's Season 23 has been postponed until further notice due to building permit issues with the city. As this was the planned venue for The Woman Who Amuses Herself in November, Idle Muse Theatre Company has rescheduled the 10th Season and reassigned the upcoming 10th Season venue. The fall slot will be replaced by a staged reading of The War of the Worlds directed by ensemble member Tristan Brandon and new festival celebrating plays written and directed by women entitled the Athena Festival to be curated by ensemble member Sara Robinson.

The Colony Theatre is thrilled to present the second production of its 41st season, the West Coast Premiere of THE BEST OF ENEMIES by Mark St. Germain, directed by David Rose. THE BEST OF ENEMIES will preview tonight, September 16; Thursday, September 17; and Friday, September 18 at 8:00pm. It will open on Saturday, September 19 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, October 18.

On the heels of a sold-out production of George Orwell's Animal Farm last season, Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) begins the 2015/16 season with another Orwellian masterpiece, 1984. Adapted by Andrew White and directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon, Orwell's 1984 receives a cutting-edge, multi-media production with projection design by Joseph A. Burke and photography direction by Joel Moorman.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company announced today the complete cast for the Chicago premiere of Domesticated, a provocative dark comedy written and directed by ensemble member and Pulitzer Prize-winner Bruce Norris. The cast features ensemble member Tom Irwin and venerable Chicago actress Mary Beth Fisher as a political couple in the midst of a sex scandal. Irwin has been an ensemble member since 1979, having performed in more than 50 Steppenwolf productions including The Grapes of Wrath and The Seafarer. Fisher, a frequent performer at Goodman Theatre, most recently in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, last performed at Steppenwolf in Dead Man's Cell Phone in 2008. Completing the Domesticated cast are Emily Chang, Esteban Andres Cruz, Meighan Gerachis, Rae Gray, Beth Lacke, Millie Langford, Melanie Neilan, Meg Thalken and Karen Woditsch. Domesticated runs December 3, 2015 - February 7, 2016 in the Downstairs Theatre. Tickets to Domesticated ($20 - $89) go on sale Friday, October 2, 2015 through Audience Services (1650 N. Halsted) at 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org.

The Headlong, Nottingham Playhouse and Almeida Theatre five star production of 1984 must end its limited run at the Playhouse Theatre on 5 September 2015. Following hugely successful runs at the Almeida and in the West End last year, two national tours and prior to a forthcoming international tour, 1984 has been revived to continued success at the Playhouse Theatre this summer.

The Colony Theatre is thrilled to present the second production of its 41st season, the West Coast Premiere of THE BEST OF ENEMIES by Mark St. Germain, directed by David Rose.  THE BEST OF ENEMIES will preview on Wednesday, September 16; Thursday, September 17; and Friday, September 18 at 8:00pm. It will open on Saturday, September 19 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, October 18.

RIVERSIDE, Calif., Aug. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire-iReach/ 'The Skyview of Astronauts' is Sean Kestrel's debut novel. The novel is a strange blend of the narcotic, the bizarre, the satiric, the metaphoric and the darkness that haunts our reality. The darkness of a society falling into a politically correct environment, where those who are offended in real or implied numbers raise their voices and drown out dissent.

August is a time to celebrate the theatre; as the world's largest festival of theatre kicks off in Edinburgh preparations are well and truly underway in Manchester to announce the winners of Europe's largest playwriting competition, THE BRUNTWOOD PRIZE FOR PLAYWRITING. A partnership between Manchester family-owned business Bruntwood and the Royal Exchange Theatre, THE BRUNTWOOD PRIZE FOR PLAYWRITING will name its new winners on 17 November 2015 and also mark 10 exceptionally rewarding years of the competition.