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THEATRE
NORTHERN BALLET’S 1984
Choreographer Jonathan Watkins on adapting George Orwell’s seminal
For many, Big Brother is simply a TV show i lled with fame-hungry people desperate to raise their proi le. But for those who have read George Orwell’s classic novel 1984, the term refers to a far more sinister form of surveillance.
Written in 1948, the novel depicts a world
where freedom of choice is a thing of the past, and loving anyone other than Big Brother and the ‘Party’ is strictly forbidden. In the midst of this hellish conformity, a love affair blossoms between protagonists Winston and Julia. It was this stark contrast, between the lovers’ clandestine meetings and the rest of their heavily scrutinised lives, that appealed to choreographer Jonathan Watkins.
‘I always imagined creating two different
worlds,’ he says. ‘With the physicality of Winston and Julia working against the uniformity of the
Party. A lot of people wondered how you could turn 1984 into a ballet, but when you see the production, you realise how it lends itself to that medium.’
Despite being written almost 70 years ago, Orwell’s novel has a perpetual resonance, meaning that no matter when you read or see it, it appears current.
‘I did a Q&A session with young people and they felt it was talking about social media now,’ says Watkins. ‘But then I spoke to older people who read the book years ago, and they felt it was about the time they were living in back then. Because whether you read it when it was i rst written, or in the 1960s, 1990s or now, there’s always stuff happening in the world that you can link it to.’ (Kelly Apter) ■ Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Thu 31 Mar–Sat 2 Apr.
84 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016
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