NEW YORK—In George Orwell’s gripping novel “1984,” the most dangerous type of oppression is one not clearly defined but still capable of insidiously suffocating those who question its authority. Yet for all its power and topicality, the current Broadway stage adaptation, a transfer from the United Kingdom, doesn’t present that message as cleanly as it could.
In some future time, every person in this particular sphere of influence is under the continual surveillance of Big Brother, the party currently in complete control. This group literally watches everybody, with a telescreen in every room of every home and business—devices that can never be turned off or down. The same devices broadcast messages of controlled news and misinformation.
Without question, '1984' is riveting. The work contains emotional twists and turns that at times feel like a punch in the gut.
