EDINBURGH 2023: Review: 1984, Assembly Roxy

In a world where social media stalks our every view, comment and click online to manipulate opinions and preferences, it seems pertinent to bring George Orwell's famous novel to the live stage. Unfortunately, this production misses the mark.

The play is advertised as a combination of live action and filmed image, however the latter completely takes over. While the few staged scenes are impactful, the piece is dominated by slow, stilted filmed scenes intended to represent Winston's memories with Julia. Orion Powell is a powerful Winston onstage, but like many theatrical actors struggles to translate this to the screen. His filmed chemistry with Estelle Mey (Julia) is unconvincing - it is a shame we never see Mey live, as I'm sure we'd also see a more effective onstage portrayal. Winston's interrogation at the end was the highlight due to limited film interruptions - unfortunately this wasn't enough to save the performance.

While multimedia can enhance theatre, here it was an overused downfall. I'd like to see the piece revisited with interpretative changes - it felt more like cinema than theatre.

1984 is at Assembly Roxy until August 28

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