Anindu Rentala '21, Hop Arts Ambassador The Dartmouth Department of Theater's 1984 is characterized by its mixed-media adaptation. Various video clips are woven throughout the play, including Bill Maher’s interview with Yale Professor Timothy Snyder and a video made by the cast, depicting the scene in which the character Winston is tortured. Created by director Peter Hackett, this adaptation uniquely contextualizes the play’s relevance in 2018, highlighting creeping bits of post-fact authoritarianism in America’s democratic-republic. The 1984 that recently played on Broadway was also a … [Read more...]
1984: A lot to think about
By Ricardo M. Serrano-Smith, Hop Arts Ambassador The lights dim, the audiences hushes, and an ominous message appears on the screen: “Big Brother is Watching.” The play begins with a old-fashioned and relaxed tone; actors are reading off of a script in a radio broadcast center, and it feels unnatural. However, as the play continues, one realizes that there is no fourth wall that separates the actors from the audience. In fact the audience in The Moore Theater is intended to be the audience of the radio broadcast. This took a little time to realize, as it was non-traditional, however the … [Read more...]
“1984” is “scarily relevant” to today, says cast member
By Sophia A. Koval '21, Hop Arts Ambassador Savannah Miller is a ‘21 in this term’s mainstage production of 1984, which runs February 16-25 at the Hop. Miller is a prospective theater major who has always had a passion for the arts. Here, she weighs in on her experience in Dartmouth’s theater program. Q: Describe your involvement in the arts at Dartmouth. A: I am a person of Oceania and a prisoner in 1984. I am also going to be a theater major. Last term, I was an assistant stage manager for Cabaret as well as an Arts Ambassador, and I write for the Arts section of The Dartmouth. Q: … [Read more...]
From Hitler and Stalin to Charlottesville and “alternative facts”: “1984” cast does its homework
Every theatrical production involves a lot of research, and the Dartmouth Department of Theater’s production of 1984 (February 16-25 in The Moore Theater) is no different. Theater professor Peter Hackett ’75 is directing an original adaptation of a radio play based on the famous novel, also incorporating passages from the 2017 New York Times #1 bestseller On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by historian Timothy Snyder. During rehearsals, students always have access to copies of both the novel and Snyder's book. The dramaturgy has involved more than books, however. In … [Read more...]
