Staying eerily faithful to George Orwell's vision, Onstage Playhouse's presentation of 1984 is not for the faint of heart. The play presents an utterly convincing atmosphere of complete physical and psychological oppression under a futuristic totalitarian regime. Effectively adapted by Robert Owens, Winton Hall Jr., and Williams A. Miles Jr. for the stage, it gives horrifying insight into mind control, the true meaning of freedom, and what it means to be human.
Written in 1948, George Orwell's science fiction vision of 1984 is unabashedly grim. The government controls all citizens via television screens placed in homes and offices that can be turned down but not turned off. These screens interrupt daily life constantly with messages and commands, and they can also read thoughts. The image of a sinister looking man reminiscent of Adolf Hitler is on the screens and is referred to as Big Brother. Big Brother, or The Party, stands for the government that promotes constant war, rewrites history, and controls the lives of its citizens. Normal relationships are not permitted, and the worst crime is to have negative thoughts about the Party. The Thought Police are on the loose, and everyone is suspect. Thoughts are constantly controlled and scrutinized, unfiltered information is not available, and freedom is nonexistent.
Winston Smith (Rob Conway) is a government employee. Angst-ridden and unhappy, he finds a ray of hope when Julia (Nicole Hagameyer) is transferred to his office. Although at first suspicious that she belongs to the Thought Police because of her constant staring, he realizes soon enough that what she feels is love. Although marriage and relationships are forbidden, they decide to secretly marry and hide away in an apartment without a government screen.
When not obsessed with joining a group of revolutionaries fighting The Party, Winston and Julia frantically cultivate the seedling of a life together. They get a few moments, before reality crashes down on them. In the end, we find that the one thing that truly makes one human is the capacity to love.
Rob Conway does an excellent job as the mentally tortured Winston. Deadpan and completely focused, he makes his anxiety palpable throughout the play. Playing Julia, Nicole Hagameyer is his antithesis. She exudes a winning hopefulness in their plight and naivete to the reality of the danger they face. A touching moment comes when she changes from the dehumanizing government uniform (looks like a janitor's outfit) into a dress she saved a year to buy on the black market. Excited to show herself as a woman to her husband, she is disappointed when he ignores her and would rather read a forbidden book written by the revolutionary Emanuel Goldstein. This disagreement is the closest they get to the normalcy of a real life.
Bob Christiansen is ominous as O'Brien, and Inner Party member. He subtly plays him with a quiet intensity that becomes more powerful as the play progresses.
Also seen are the feisty Abra Lamour Hayes (Parsons) and the downtrodden Dan Ferlado (Syme) playing fellow employees. Neal Sullivan lends an authenticity to Mr. Charrington, a senior who remembers life before The Party.
Showing its usual dexterity with sets, Onstage Playhouse does an excellent job with the design for 1984. Using screens, somber grey paint, spartan furnishings, and movable walls, the set design brings the play to life. Effective lighting and timely sound effects finish the presentation. Overall, a fine job by director/set designer James McCullock in effectively capturing the Orwellian spirit of psychological oppression in every single aspect of the production.
