Aquila Theatre in George Orwell’s 1984

October 28th, 2019 10:00am

STANDARDS TH:Cr1.1 Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. TH:Cr2 Organize and develop artistic ideas and works. TH:Cr 6 Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work

DESCRIPTION OF MATINEE In the throes of unprecedented challenges to privacy, truth, and personal expression, Aquila Theatre brings 1984, George Orwell’s cautionary novel, to the Newlin Hall stage. Written in 1944 near the end of World War II, 1984 depicts a society where “Big Brother” is always watching and technology is wielded as a weapon to inundate citizens with propaganda to manipulate thoughts and actions. Imagined before the existence of computers, this classic story provides the kind of evocative and innovative storytelling that suits Aquila’s bold, ensemble driven, physical style. http://nortoncenter.com/events/aquila-theatre-in-george-orwells-1984-stu/ WHAT’S INSIDE About George Orwell Synopsis Characters Say What? Vocabulary Words Fun Facts About 1984 Think About It! Discussion Questions GRADE RECOMMENDATION: CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS: 5th Grade through High School Language Arts, Drama, and Social Studies

A Study Guide to Aquila Theatre’s Production of

GEORGE ORWELL'S 1984 Adapted for the stage by Michael Gene Sullivan Directed | by Desiree Sanchez

2019 S T U D Y G U I D E B Y JA M I L A R E D D Y

In the throes of unprecedented challenges to privacy, truth, and personal expression, Aquila Theatre brings 1984, George Orwell’s cautionary novel, to the stage for the 19-20 season. As our modern world grapples with the threats and benefits of technological integration, Aquila Theatre’s production of 1984 provides a space to appreciate the value of individual thought – an evocative and timely narrative of personal freedom against political repression. Today, Orwell’s prescient story resonates around the globe as individuals, systems, and governments clash.

Written in 1944 near the end of World War II, 1984 depicts a society controlled by a perfectly totalitarian government bent on repressing all subversive tendencies. “Big Brother” is always watching and technology is wielded as a weapon to inundate citizens with propaganda and to monitor thoughts and actions. Imagined before the existence of computers, this dystopian future explores the power of technology as a mental manipulator and source of curated information.

The resurgence of 1984 marks a widespread desire to understand the present moment by looking back… as a means to look forward. How far are we from realizing Orwell’s nightmare? Are we already there? Can there be more than one truth, more than one set of facts?

1984 is a classic by one of literature’s most significant authors and provides the kind of evocative and innovative storytelling that suits Aquila’s bold, ensemble driven, physical style.

I N T H I S S T U D Y G U I D E

ABOUT GEORGE ORWELL

SYNOPSIS CHARACTERS

SAY WHAT?: VOCABULARY WORDS 5 FUN FACTS ABOUT 1984 THINK ABOUT IT! DISCUSSION Q'S.

GEORGE ORWELL

George Orwell (1903–1950) was born Eric Arthur Blair in Bengal, India, the son of a British civil servant. As was typical, the family returned to England for Orwell to attend school. Immediately recognized as bright, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the prestigious Eton boarding school. Although he was the pupil of Aldous Huxley at Eton and even succeeded in publishing his first 4 works of writing in small college journals, he did not dedicate himself to writing until many years later.

Instead, he followed the example of his father and relocated to Burma to serve in the Imperial Police. Orwell was troubled by the sequestering of British officers from the local people and even more bothered by the slow revelation that the Burmese were unhappy with the rule. Unwilling to continue supporting such a system and ready at last to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a writer, he left Burma after only five years of service. It was during these years that Orwell was to form his earliest criticisms about imperial and totalitarian rule, which later inspired his first novel, Burmese Days (1934). Moreover, the experiences were of great personal significance to Orwell and mark the turning point in his life during which he first identified himself as an anarchist and socialist.

Orwell published a book every year from 1933 through 1939, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), a commissioned account of the lives of coal workers in the north of England and what is often considered his first socialist work. This was followed by Homage to Catalonia (1938), a portrayal of his two years fighting for the Republicans in Spain who were resisting the oppression of Franco’s Nationalists. After being chased from Spain by the Soviet-backed communists he had tried to support, Orwell would live out the rest of his life at home in England.

https://www.biography.com/writer/george-orwell

Source: Getty

"In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

-George Orwell

S Y N O P S I S 1984 is set in Oceania, one of three perpetually warring totalitarian states (the other two are Eurasia and Eastasia). Oceania is governed by the all-controlling Party, which has brainwashed the population into unthinking obedience to its leader, Big Brother. The Party has created a propagandistic language known as Newspeak, which is designed to limit free thought and promote the Party’s doctrines. Its words include doublethink (belief in contradictory ideas simultaneously), which is reflected in the Party’s slogans: “War is peace,” “Freedom is slavery,” and “Ignorance is strength.” The Party maintains control through the Thought Police and continual surveillance.

The story's hero, Winston Smith, is a minor party functionary living in a London that is still shattered by a nuclear war that took place not long after World War II. He belongs to the Outer Party, and his job is to rewrite history in the Ministry of Truth, bringing it in line with current political thinking. However, Winston’s longing for truth and decency leads him to secretly rebel against the government. He embarks on a forbidden affair with Julia, a like-minded woman, and they rent a room in a neighborhood populated by Proles (short for proletariats). Winston also becomes increasingly interested in the Brotherhood, a group of dissenters. Unbeknownst to Winston and Julia, however, they are being watched closely (ubiquitous posters throughout the city warn residents that “Big Brother is watching you.”).

When Winston is approached by O’Brien—an official of the Inner Party who appears to be a secret member of the Brotherhood—the trap is set. O’Brien is actually a spy for the Party, on the lookout for “thought-criminals,” and Winston and Julia are eventually caught and sent to the Ministry of Love for a violent reeducation. The ensuing imprisonment, torture, and reeducation of Winston are intended not merely to break him physically or make him submit but to root out his independence and destroy his dignity and humanity. In Room 101, where prisoners are forced into submission by exposure to their worst nightmares, Winston panics as a cage of rats is attached to his head. He yells out for his tormentors to “Do it to Julia!” and states that he does not care what happens to her. With this betrayal, Winston is released. He later encounters Julia, and neither is interested in the other. Instead Winston loves Big Brother.

Photo from 1984 (the film), directed Michael Radford and starring John Hurt

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nineteen-Eighty-four

THE CHARACTERS Winston Smith - A minor member of the ruling Party in near-future London, Winston Smith is a, contemplative, intellectual, and fatalistic thirty- nine-year-old. Winston hates the totalitarian control and enforced repression that are characteristic of his government. He harbors revolutionary dreams.

O’Brien - A mysterious, powerful, and sophisticated member of the Inner Party whom Winston believes is also a member of the Brotherhood, the legendary group of anti-Party rebels.

Julia - Winston’s lover, a woman working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. Julia enjoys sex, and claims to have had affairs with many Party members. Julia is pragmatic and optimistic. Her rebellion against the Party is small and personal, for her own enjoyment, in contrast to Winston’s ideological motivation.

Parsons - An obnoxious, and dull Party member who lives near Winston and works at the Ministry of Truth. He has a dull wife and a group of suspicious, ill-mannered children who are members of the Junior Spies.

Syme - An intelligent, outgoing man who works with Winston at the Ministry of Truth. Syme specializes in language. As the novel opens, he is working on a new edition of the Newspeak dictionary. Winston believes Syme is too intelligent to stay in the Party’s favor.

Mr. Charrington - An old man who runs a secondhand store in the prole district. Kindly and encouraging, Mr. Charrington seems to share Winston’s interest in the past. He also seems to support Winston’s rebellion against the Party and his relationship with Julia, since he rents Winston a room without a telescreen in which to carry out his affair. But Mr. Charrington is not as he seems. He is a member of the Thought Police.

John Hurt and Richard Burton in 1984 (The Film), directed by Michael Radford)

Source: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/1984/characters/

The play is intended to be performed with a cast of six -- five men, one woman, and a recorded voice. Each person

has their primary role, in addition to which the Party

Members play various people in the re-enactments of

Winston's diary.

FIVE FUN FACTS ABOUT 1984

Orwell almost called his novel "The Last Man in Europe." In a letter to his literary agent, he wrote, "I have not definitely decided on the title. I am inclined to call it either Nineteen Eighty-Four or The Last Man in Europe, but I might just possibly think of something else in the next week or two."

Before there was 1984's Thought Crime, there was Japan's Kempeitai. Orwell based his Thought Crime motif on the Imperial Japanese Army's military police arm. Operating from 1881 to 1945, this secretive police force had the power to arrest people for "unpatriotic" thoughts.

Orwell finished writing his novel while severely ill. It began as a peaceful writing retreat at a friend's remote Scottish farmhouse, and it ended, quite miserably, at a sanatorium. A week before Christmas in 1947, Orwell was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with tuberculosis. While he managed to finish his manuscript, his condition only worsened in the following years.

Orwell modeled the character of Julia on his second wife, Sonia Brownell. Sonia was an assistant at a literary magazine, and Julia was "the girl from the fiction department." Unfortunately, Orwell and Sonia's love was as doomed as Julia and Winston's—Orwell died 14 weeks after the two were married.

Big Brother was watching Orwell while he wrote 1984.Thanks to a research trip in 1936 that included a stay at an apartment "arranged by the local Communist party," the government put Orwell on a special watch list. He was kept under tight surveillance for more than 12 years.

S T U D Y Q U E S T I O N S

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