Directed by Tim Robbins, 1984 will play REDCAT (the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater) June 17-29. The cast features Cameron Dye, Keythe Farley, Brian T. Finney, Kaili Hollister, V.J. Foster and Steven M. Porter. 1984, according to press notes, "tells of a world where people fear that their opinions cannot be expressed freely, where citizens are monitored at the government's discretion, where leaders are not held accountable for their deceptions and where perpetual war is waged against an unseen enemy: a world where Ignorance is Strength, Freedom is Slavery, and War is Peace. This is the world Orwell created more than half a century ago, and its prescience of today's world is startling."
In a statement director Robbins said, "When I read Michael's adaptation, I thought he was making this stuff up. When I went back and reread the book, I was stunned. I think we're left with the impression, if we haven't read it in, say, 20 years, about Big Brother watching you — a gray world where the government can see into every apartment. What you don't remember are the specifics: what Doublethink is, what [the book's arch nemesis] Emanuel Goldstein's theories are about why war is necessary, and how the ruling class uses the fear of war to propagate its hold on power. It's all so relevant today."
The Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater is located at 631 West 2nd Street in Los Angeles, CA. For tickets call (213) 237-2800 or visit www.redcat.org.
