Must the combination of art and politics be so loud? Blind Summit show Naima Khan how to entertain totalitarian state style.
In 1949 George Orwell published a book about what he thought the world could be like in 1984. The dystopia that exists in this imagined age is ruled over by Big Brother, a perversely influential force that works through surveillance, language, repression and propaganda. Not the cheeriest play to see in the run up to Christmas but very cleverly crafted indeed.
In their ambitious adaptation of 1984, Blind Summit have succeeded in highlighting the dark humour in Orwell’s fictional world. The story of ‘thought criminal’, Winston, and his illicit love affair with free-spirited Julia is told by members of ‘The Party’ as they would have produced the cautionary tale in Orwell's Oceania in 1984. There are seven human cast members and some superbly manoeuvred puppets.
The production tries to prioritise simplicity. The props are mostly cardboard, the sound effects are uncomplicated, and for a worrying while at the beginning, produced by the actors themselves. In an impressive conceptual feat, the play is didactic on a number of levels. Not only do Director Mark Down and designer Nick Barnes wake us up to our own state of heavy surveillance but they also attempt to make Orwell's concepts more accessible to young people. They succeed, but in so doing, rather complicate the production.
A group of comrades start things of by telling us, in a very dry and very loud manner, how the show is going to run, who it involves and what we should learn from it. These characters proceed to number every scene and summarise what's about to happen. They want to fill us will 'hateful vigour' and continuing in this vehement style does just that. This does get across the point that, in the totalitarian state of Oceania, creativity is smothered into non-existence, but two hours twenty minutes of this is just too much.
There are some ingenuous and amusing techniques employed to explain Orwell's concepts, including an illustrated breakdown of the catalytic book within a book The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism. This complex read explains the ruling of a small elite over the many, and exposes The Party for what it really is. Bringing 1984 to younger readers in this animated way is a great idea, but poorly executed.
The way in which the actors shout their lines from behind a screen almost completely obliterates the script. Which is a shame because, if you listen hard enough, it’s very funny. It makes me feel like you need to have read 1984 to understand what's going on and get the jokes. Not good for Down and Barnes, who have tried to create a production for everyone regardless of familiarity with the novel. To their credit, there are some universally amusing lines, including the protagonist’s wife telling him she's going to join the Ministry of Love to abolish the orgasm.
The most gripping aspect of this production is the puppetry. Blind Summit are known for their skill in this department and they excel themselves in this play. The puppets are powerful, emotive characters in their own right. Making Charrington, the landlord of the secret room where Winston and Julia meet, a moustached, stout little puppet with the ability to float up into his own memories is captivating. He is adorable, hilarious and brilliantly human. The skilled puppeteers working together in perfect symphony are awe-inspiring. If only there was more of this. Charrington also becomes the saving grace of a wasted O'Brien whose benevolence and allure is lost to an Agent Smith portrayal. We forget that The Party not only wants to control us but wants to make us love being controlled.
Blind Summit's 1984 does succeed in bringing to life a literary world to which many young people find it difficult to relate. The ubiquity of communication via mobile phones and the internet means most don't feel a lack of freedom or creativity. Blind Summit show them just what that might look like and, yes, it does fill you will ‘hateful vigour’.
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