1984

A play based on George Orwell

IN THE STATE OF OCEANIA: THE ALL-POWERFUL ONE-PARTY STATE monitors everything and everyone around the clock. Big Brother has eyes and ears everywhere—for the good and safety of all citizens, as the government assures us. Winston Smith works at the “Ministry of Truth.” He falsifies history to suit the regime, creates alternative facts, and ensures that the inhabitants of Oceania perceive even the most contradictory information as true. But something is brewing inside Winston. He can no longer submit uncritically to totalitarian rule and commits a crime that is terrible by Oceania’s standards: he thinks for himself and secretly keeps a diary.
Winston falls in love with his colleague Julia, and the two decide to make contact with the underground resistance. But the Thought Police already have them in their sights… George Orwell wrote the novel “1984” in 1948. At the time, it seemed like a glimpse into a distant, dystopian future. A good 40 years later, things look very different: Total surveillance is now technically possible.
A discussion will follow the screening.