Performances run Thursday 24th – Saturday 26th July 2025.
From the multi-award-winning creative minds at Shake and Stir (Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Animal Farm and Dracula) comes Nelle Lee and Nick Skubij’s powerful adaptation of George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece 1984 at Riverside Theatres from 24th to 26th July.
It was a bright cold day, and the clocks were striking thirteen…
Winston Smith, an editor at the Ministry of Truth, sits quietly. A quick swig of gin; a glance of quiet optimism toward the telescreen. Winston opens his diary, puts pen to paper, and in doing so, commits the essential crime that contains all others in itself. A radical and unprecedented act of rebellion.
Discovered, entrapped, and incarcerated in the Ministry of Love, Winston, in defending his burning desire for personal freedom, prepares for the fight of his life. Can the oppressive forces of The Party, led by BIG BROTHER, obliterate the indomitable human spirit?
Directed by Michael Futcher (Jane Eyre), 1984 features an exceptional line-up of celebrated Australian performers, including Michael Whalley (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Chloe Bayliss (TV’s Doctor Doctor), David Whitney (Seymour Centre’s The Wharf Revue), and Tony Cogin (Frankenstein).
Shake and Stir’s Founder and Artistic Director Nick Skubij said, “The parallels between Orwell’s world and our own are striking—not just in politics, but across all aspects of modern life...we are thrilled to have assembled a brilliant cast that will tear into this powerful piece of theatre.”
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