Latest news with #NineteenEightyFour
Edinburgh Reporter
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Reporter
Fringe 2025 – Julia. 1984 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The continuing relevance of George Orwell's work is well represented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year. This includes an excellent theatrical production of Animal Farm (Assembly, Studio 1). From the 8th of August onwards, The Winston Smith Library of Victory and Truth, a special sculptural installation by artist Hans K Clausen, will be on display at Out of The Blue on Dalmeny Street from 8-23 August. At Summerhall, Julia. 1984 by Within Theatre continues the Orwellian themes, demonstrating their continuing relevance. Directed by Tanya Polosina, and with superb lead performances by Sofia Barysevich (playing Julia) and Michael Tcherepashenets (O'Brien), Karina Wiedman's Julia. 1984 offers a worthy sequel to Orwell's dark masterpiece. Sofia Barysevich and Michael Tcherepashenets (photo by Alina Saffron) Entering Room 101 Julia. 1984 begins where the original Nineteen Eighty Four ends, the aftermath of Winston Smith's final succumbing to days of torture – and his acceptance that the Party and Big Brother represent the only truth, the only reality. This is continued in Julia. 1984. The play takes place where the original book concluded; in Room 101, 'the worst thing in the world', where victims come face to face with their very worst fears (in Winston's case, rats). The focus here shifts from Winston to Julia. In Julia. 1984 she is no longer 'merely' Winston's lover, but now the central focus. What became of her? An eerie and unsettling space As the audience enters the Main Hall at Summerhall, they find themselves in an eerie and unsettling space. They have, even if they don't yet know it, entered Room 101. You may come out of Room 101 alive, but you will not be the same person, you will not hold to the same truths. Progress, in Room 101 it's not like progress elsewhere. Here, 'suicide ideation' is apparently 'the first step to recovery' and the acceptance that Big Brother is always right – and that truth is malleable ('2 plus 2 is 5'). We begin with Julia midway through her torture, overseen by O'Brien, head of the Thought Police, headquartered at the Ministry of Love. It is the relationship and conflict between Julia and O'Brien which is at the centre of performance. It begins with Julia very much the victim, on her knees literally and metaphorically. She is imprisoned, with confession to crimes (real or imagined) the only way out. It takes us back to the conclusion of the original novel and the question that hangs over it; what was Julia's role in Winston's capture? These themes of distrust and double crossing are at the heart of Julia. 1984. Sofia Barysevich & Anastasia Velique (photo by Alina Saffron) Fear and loathing The action onstage was a stark contrast to warmth and sunshine on the nearby Meadows; of children playing freely and ice cream being liberally scoffed. The world of Julia. 1984 has no room for such simple liberties and pleasures. The drinking of Victory Gin is done only to blank out the reality, not as a social lubricant. You don't want to speak freely in a world where no one can safely be confided in. The tense exchanges between Julia and Emma (Anastasia Velique) illustrate this clearly. Fear and loathing is here the essence of life and any personal relationships are fractured by the state. There is a deep unsettling feeling from the start; the audience not sure whether the show has begun. It's immediately evident that this is going to be an unsettling and intense experience. The mood changes numerous times, from celebratory, to worried, to petrified. At times, the atmosphere borders on jolly; at others, metaphorical shockwaves are projected towards those seated. At one point, several audience members around me jumped out of their seats as the action took a dramatic turn. At another point, the seating shook, further instilling a sense of unease. This is consistent with Room 101, where the punishments are psychological and physical. Who is watching? The feeling that dominates is of claustrophobia. The characters in the play are trapped, intellectually if not physically, while the audience too feels surrounded, with action occurring in front and sometimes behind them. Who is watching? What are they looking for? Fluctuating fortunes The level of the performance was truly impressive. The interactions between the characters were convincing. Central were the tense dialogues between the leading characters. These were carried out in simplified English (in line with the principles of Newspeak, a streamlined version of Standard English, denuded of unnecessary words). The performance was never rushed, with the deep unease allowed to linger over the audience. There was time for the audience to absorb the deeper significance of the exchanges they had just witnessed. The fluctuating fortunes of the main characters is very well communicated, especially O'Brien's shift from charismatic, all powerful master of ceremonies, the master of Room 101 – to a man in an increasingly precarious position. The changing power dynamics between Julia and O'Brien are at the core of the story and the performance. Their interactions are an increasingly intense cocktail of distrust, loathing, and lust. At root is the question of who is really closest to the Inner Party and to its unseen but all-seeing 'captain, engine and guru', Big Brother. Who will win the power struggle? What emerges is that 'everyone is replaceable', even those in the highest positions within the Inner Party. Parallels with purges in many real totalitarian societies immediately come to mind. This may be a nightmarish vision, but has basis in reality; past and indeed present. Not history but happening now The performance ended on an intense note, leading to an extended period of hearted and well-deserved applause. Those involved in the play outlined that what inspired those involved was partly their own history as a theatre group. Now based in London, the actors come from a range of Slavic countries where freedom of expression is in short supply and Orwell's vision of totalitarianism is very much alive. This is 'not history but happening now'. The way the actors are inspired by a need to counteract such a mindset is clearly manifested in this powerful and disturbing performance which does justice to Orwell's work. JULIA.1984 continues until 11 August at Summerhall. Running time 60min Suitable for Age 14+ Warnings Flashing lights, swearing, violence Tickets from: Like this: Like Related [Note: the author thanks Eva Vaporidi for her assistance with this review]
Daily Mail
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
George Orwell estate accused of censorship after putting trigger warning at start of Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell's estate has been accused of censorship after a 'trigger warning' was added to his classic novel Nineteen Eighty Four. The preface of the the 75th anniversary edition suggests Orwell's protagonist Winston Smith is 'problematic' and that readers may find his views on women 'despicable'. The introductory essay was written by US novelist Dolen Perkins-Valdez and critics claim it risks undermining the revolutionary novel's warning against state control of thought. Orwell's dystopian hyperbolic future is set under an authoritarian regime, where citizens are punished by the 'Thought Police' for subversive thoughts. It follows Winston Smith and a minor bureaucrat who secretly rebels against the regime with Julia, a fellow party member. But their doomed affair comes to an end and the hearts of readers are broken when they are arrested, tortured and brainwashed into betraying one another. The novel has been hailed as one of the most influential pieces of literature of all time. Now, the author's estate has been accused of ideological policing. US writer Walter Kirn said on the podcast America this Week: 'We're getting someone to actually convict George Orwell himself of thought crime. 'We're not yet in a world where books and classic books are being excised or eliminated,' Kirn added, but warned the Orwell estate-approved edition of 1984 had been 'published with an apology for itself'. The book already had a foreword written by American novelist Thomas Pynchon, leading Mr Kirn to question why a second was needed. 'These people felt they needed an introduction before the old white man's introduction. So this version of 1984 has a trigger warning!' He called it 'the most 1984-ish thing I've ever f***ing read'. Ms Perkins-Valdez wrote she was enjoying the novel until Winston revelas himself to be a 'problematic' character who 'disliked nearly all women, and especially the young and pretty ones.' She added the novel doesn't address race and as a black woman she found it difficult to connect with the characters. The anniversary edition of the 1949 classic is published by Berkley Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
The Guardian
09-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
About 160 historic George Orwell papers saved for nation after outcry
George Orwell's correspondence, contracts and readers' reports relating to his earliest novels are among historic papers that have been saved for the nation after an outcry over their initial dispersal. University College London (UCL) said it had acquired the archive of the Nineteen Eighty-Four author's publisher as 'a valuable piece of Britain's cultural heritage'. About 160 items, dating from 1934 to 1937, are to be added to the Orwell Archive in UCL Special Collections, the world's most comprehensive holdings of research material relating to him. The papers offer extraordinary insights into one of the most influential British writers of the 20th century. They relate to four of his earliest published works – A Clergyman's Daughter, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, The Road to Wigan Pier and Inside the Whale – and include his observations on the politics of 1930s Europe, which helped shape his thoughts and ideas. The collection had belonged to his publisher, Victor Gollancz, who founded one of the 20th century's foremost publishing houses. The company was acquired by the Orion Group, which became part of Hachette, owned by the French multinational Lagardère, whose decision to sell the archive because its warehouse was closing was condemned last year as an act of cultural vandalism. Disbelief that such important papers had been languishing in dozens of rusty, dusty filing cabinets turned to anger with the realisation that they had been sold off. Rick Gekoski, a leading antiquarian bookseller, was asked to dispose of the Gollancz archive, which included correspondence with Kingsley Amis and Daphne du Maurier, among the publisher's other authors. He recalled that the decision was sanctioned by Malcolm Edwards, the then publishing director of Orion, and the board. In his 2021 book, Guarded by Dragons, he wrote: 'No one on the Orion board cared where they went, or to whom.' He had tried in vain to sell the entire archive to various institutions, before dividing it up between dozens of dealers, private collectors and libraries. He said among those approached was UCL, who, he recalled, declined partly due to funding – although it would have cost 'considerably less' than the £154,000 that it has now paid. On being told that UCL denies it had been approached previously, he said: 'Why wouldn't we [approach them]? It's the Orwell Archive.' Liz Thomson, who has reported on the book trade for 35 years, had warned of the loss of a 'priceless' archive when she heard of its dispersal. She was dismayed to learn that one dealer had sold Gollancz's Animal Farm correspondence, with an asking price of £100,000. It included Orwell's 1944 letter describing it as 'a little fairy story … with a political meaning'. The publisher's sale was contrasted with the extraordinary generosity of Richard Blair, whose father Eric Blair wrote under the pen-name George Orwell. In 2021, he purchased 50 letters to donate them to UCL's Orwell Archive, fearing that they would otherwise have gone on to the market. 'Then they're never seen again,' he said. He said: 'I'm very pleased and relieved that the Orwell Archive has taken [the Gollancz papers] and that they've not been dispersed into the ether, gobbled by various collectors, never to be seen again.' The new acquisition boasts manuscript notebooks, personal papers and the first handwritten notes of some of Orwell's most famous words and phrases, such as 'Two Minutes Hate', 'Newspeak', and 'War is Peace. Ignorance is strength. Freedom is slavery.' UCL's purchase from Jonkers Rare Books and Peter Harrington Rare Books was made with support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Friends of the Nations' Libraries. Sarah Aitchison, the director of UCL Special Collections, said the collection revealed the editing process behind Orwell's published works and the legal anxieties that spurred amendments. She noted that Gollancz's libel concerns run throughout the letters, with the publisher often requesting that Orwell change names and details to reduce similarities with real people, places and companies. The papers relating to Keep the Aspidistra Flying, for example, show his frustration over requested changes. He reluctantly conceded: 'These alterations spoil the book altogether.' The Orwell biographer DJ Taylor said: 'This is an absolutely fantastic treasure trove from the point of view of Orwell and publishing history … Literary manuscripts have a terrible habit of disappearing into the vaults of private collectors, never to be seen again, so it is wonderful that these can now be made available to everyone.' Last year, Prof Jean Seaton, the director of The Orwell Foundation, expressed astonishment that the publisher had failed to understand the archive's value. She argued that such literary archives should not be dispersed to collectors who want 'trophies'. 'There are lots of people with lots of money who'd like a trophy. But you then lose track of them and they disappear, until they pop up on the market again.' Bill Hamilton, the literary agent and executor of Orwell's estate, said of the acquisition: 'We're thrilled. Bit by bit, all this really important Orwell material is finding its way to UCL, where it should really be.' Orion declined to comment.
