Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

"Big Brother is watching you.” That is all the introduction one needs to the genius of George Orwell’s 1984, so familiar that no matter how many languages the novel has been converted into, the meaning of those words is never lost in translation.

As performed here by the Godlight Theatre Company at 59E59, what has been lost in translation is the heart of the matter; namely, the heart, thoughts and emotions of Everyman Winston Smith (Gregory Konow). The adaptation by Alan Lyddiard is very fine, and faithful to the text. Theatre C, the smallest of the 59E59 theatres, ensures the action is up close and personal. The sound effects are loud, and appropriately frightening. I’m not sure why the four chattering women on the sidelines were dressed like extras from Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” video, as it lent a dominatrix, window-dressing bent that was unnecessary. However, all that aside, if the audience does not understand what exactly Winston is losing and what he will become once his three-step program is over, then there is nothing much at stake, and no one to feel empathy for. His read-aloud diary excerpts and thoughts do not communicate anguish, or struggle. Julia (Enid Cortes), Winston’s nymphomaniac, fun-gal lover, fares better: her joy in both deception and pleasure is palpable. But what becomes of her after she and Winston are caught happens offstage, not on. Winston’s heart and his suffering is the key to the play.

His fellow drones, the worker-bee, verbose Syme (Aaron Paternoster) and, particularly, Parsons (Nick Paglino) are very effective; Paglino goes from proud father to maligned victim in shattering fashion. And Dustin Olsons’s O’Brien is a revelation of evil: looking like a slick Evangelical preacher, the calmer his voice gets, the more chilling he becomes. His modulations were right on the money.

When it comes to Room 101, I was hoping for rats, quite frankly. Or, considering the effects that could have been used, something horrific, or jolting. To have O’ Brien explain the cage on Winston’s head and the rats is a bit of a let down; too much exposition at the end of the play when a shock would do rather nicely. Director Joe Tantalo has some good ideas, but unless he finds a way to emotionally connect to his audience, in the same way Orwell connected in his novel, 1984 is best left on the page, and not on the stage.