1984 *****

One of the purposes of science fiction writing is to issue a warning to humanity about a possible future. In 1949, when George Orwell wrote his now classic novel 1984, never had that idea been more urgent, with the Nazis only just overrun and Stalinist forces now controlling eastern Europe and parts of Asia.

Britain has been subsumed into a trans-Atlantic authoritarian superstate, ruled by Big Brother. Winston Smith works for a historical revisionism department, responsible for retrofitting historical archives with the party line du jour. This manipulation of history and memory is a critical component of state power: “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” Smith secretly despises Big Brother, however, making him a thought criminal.

Smith embarks upon an illicit affair with Julia; but the room they take is provided by a state agent. The member of the resistance they had trusted also transpires to be a double agent, smoking out prospective dissidents. They have been set up, rendering their capture inevitable. They are taken to the Ministry of Love, a deliberately chilling misnomer, where victims are terrorised, tortured and brainwashed. The culmination of this process is to send the protagonists to Room 101 – the embodiment of the individual’s greatest fear. Those who survive the process are returned to the state as now useful citizens, embracing and amplifying Big Brother’s propaganda.

Box Tale Soup are no strangers to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, staging many fine productions over the years, and 1984 is their latest triumph. One of the hallmarks of the company’s production ethos is the use of reclaimed materials to manufacture their set, which not only drives their narrative but also supports their eye-catching, fluid, precise movement, directed adeptly by Adam Lenson. The set shifts and evolves throughout, with the backdrop accentuating the chilling denouement to Smith’s torture.

Smith (Mark Collier) has a nervous energy – quite understandable given his inevitable demise. He conveys the human condition against the backdrop of a ruthless machine: hope, fear, neuroses, love. Antonia Christophers plays Julia and other characters. As Julia, we see the brazen façade, but also moments of tenderness when believing she is undetected. It is beautifully and convincingly performed. Noel Byrne plays O’Brien, Charrington and others. Byrne’s performance is layered and nuanced, with unnerving stillness and composure as Smith is being tortured. There is a fourth member of the on-stage cast – the puppets. Byrne and Christophers weave their movement into the narrative so eloquently that we believe them to be real. A mention also to the unseen voices of Joanna Lumley, Simon Russell Beale and Sophie Aldred; truly a star-studded ensemble.

The global slide towards totalitarianism continues to gather pace. The lessons of history and the warnings starkly conveyed in Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece are wilfully disregarded by politicians more interested in power than progress. Much of Orwell’s writing has already come to pass, yet mankind continues to ignore his cautionary tale. Box Tale Soup’s superb production is alarmingly prescient.