Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan’s acclaimed adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 has extended its run at the Playhouse Theatre by an additional five weeks.
West End audiences will now have until 23 August to see the acclaimed Nottingham Playhouse, Headlong and Almeida Theatre production, which was originally booking until 19 July at the venue.
Set in a futuristic world where governmental control is absolute and even thinking the wrong thought is a crime, 1984 tells the story of Winston Smith, just an average worker who chooses to rebel against Big Brother with hideous consequences.
Icke and Macmillan’s take on Orwell’s depiction of war, government surveillance and public mind-control is inspired by the novel’s appendix and filters the spirit and ambition of the text through the lens of contemporary culture.
1984 opened at the Playhouse Theatre last month following a successful UK tour and a seven week run at the Almeida Theatre. In her five star review of the show, The Guardian’s Lyn Gardner described it as “a superbly handled multimedia speculation on the nature of truth that never lets the audience off the hook”.
Directed by co-creators Icke and Macmillan, the production’s cast includes Sam Crane, Tim Dutton, Stephen Fewell, Christopher Patrick Nolan, Matthew Spencer, Gavin Spokes, Mandi Symonds and Hara Yannas.
Following 1984’s extended run at the Playhouse Theatre, the show is due to embark on a second national tour.