Mark’s Score: 2.5 stars
Advance publicity for 1984! The Musical! (an original new Australian work) promised tap-dancing in torture chambers, rats with razzle-dazzle, Big Brother with even bigger star power and Comedy as Tragedy. This is the intriguing hook that caught my eye. I was instantly full of anticipation to see how George Orwell’s dense novel would stand up to being taken in a direction I had never imagined.
The adaptation by Davidson McLeod and Reid is well honed, covering all the major plot points. Their lyrics are whimsical and wittily supported by McCullagh’s catchy music. High praise too must be meted out to the set design by Sophie Lanigan & Max Volfneuk. Some fine choreography was on display, devised by Dale Scutts and danced by the leads & the ensemble. It however became repetitive at times, though overall suiting the machine-age, controlled world the characters inhabit.
Here the strengths of the production end. I am perhaps too much the traditionalist when it comes to this incredible Orwellian tale. It is not the stuff of comedy. I fully accept that any narrative can be presented as a musical – indeed darkly modern and experimental music theatre is just my thing. I am still not convinced that a tale of horror and despair can be turned on its head and be converted into an unapologetic comedy. Humour does indeed lurk in tragedy, but to my mind 1984 (a favourite read from an early age) cannot bear such treatment and have its main thrust as a comic parody. Room 101 is not the domain for burlesque, a particular scene where I had hoped for a shift in gears in the rhythm and stylisation of the show. It did not and this was a major disappointment. Comedy is a fine tool to draw in a crowd but to miss the chance to educate and change thinking made this show as sturdy as a mere candle in the wind.
I believe this presentation also suffers from poor timing – admittedly something beyond the control of the producer and creatives. I feel that at a time when our country is left to burn by disengaged government, creating carnage in our society, that a story which should bolster us into action and rebellion is greatly served up as bubble-gum entertainment.
The university review styled format is a genre one can easily enjoy when populated by universal talent. This production was very uneven in the skills on display. Having said that I was delighted by the joy it brought to others in the audience and am aware that maybe I was not the target audience. Furthermore I am encouraged to know that young artists are still willing to try something new and to continue the development of the Sydney theatre scene.
If you have not read the novel I urge you to. It is never out of print and curiously its worldwide sales went up a 1000% on the election of Donald Trump. That says it all.
Mark G Nagle, Theatre Now
