April, 1984. 13:00. Comrade 6079, Winston Smith, thinks a thought, starts a diary, and falls in love. But Big Brother is always watching, and the door to Room 101 can swing open in the blink of an eye.

In September the Grand Theatre, Blackpool is proud to welcome an exciting new stage production of 1984 fresh from its highly acclaimed West End debut.

The definitive book of the 20th century is re-examined in this radical new staging exploring surveillance, identity and why Orwell’s vision of the future is as relevant now as ever.

Headlong Theatre continues to interrogate our most important cultural texts, following productions of Six Characters In Search Of An Author, King Lear, Medea, Romeo and Juliet, The Seagull and Spring Awakening. This co-production has previously enjoyed a national tour in 2013 and seven weeks at the Almeida Theatre in London, followed by a West End run.

Headlong’s radical new staging of George Orwell’s iconic novel 1984 has also delighted critics, receiving rave five star reviews from The Telegraph, The Guardian & The Times:

***** ‘A remarkable, radical touring version for Headlong blazing with clinical, spine-tingling finesse. It points us back to the novel, revealing it as fully fit-for-purpose in the 21st century, and quite possibly timeless.’
The Telegraph

***** ‘A superbly handled multimedia speculation on the nature of truth that never lets the audience off the hook.’

‘The beauty of this Headlong production is that, in showing us the future, it makes us question the present. We leave the theatre less complacent about our own freedoms; less likely to swallow the lies of those who hold power.’

‘Pitilessly brilliant retelling of the doomed love affair between Winston and Julia.’
The Guardian

***** ‘This is a staging that reconsiders a classic with such steely power that it chills brain, blood and bone.’

‘There have been plenty of theatrical versions of George Orwell’s seminal dystopian novel, some dripping high-tech gloss, others stark and Brechtian. I cannot remember another as terrifying as this.’

‘Moments of savagery and tenderness collide and coalesce, magnified on a wall of live video footage.’
The Times

‘Places the themes of Orwell’s text under harsh scrutiny; the production is complex and intricate, an interrogation into both the days of the Party and its aftermath. 1984 is astonishingly successful in bringing Orwell’s text to the stage.’

‘This production is truly innovative. The employment of hidden cameras and screens, carried by actors or placed on props, broadcasts close-ups of intense scenes, not only mirroring the telescreens of Oceania but implicating the audience in the covert spying and undercover deceptions that have become habitual during the Party’s regime. ‘

‘This production is ambitious, but achieves its aim with clarity and effect that only a truly brilliant production can – and 1984, without doubt, is a brilliant production.’
A Younger Theatre

‘A theatrical tour de force that has the destructive power of an earthquake.’
The Stage

Make sure you don’t miss this opportunity to see one of the most cult classic texts of the modern era depicted on stage fresh from its West End run in Blackpool.

1984 will play at The Grand from Tuesday 30 September to Saturday 4 October 2014

(Tuesday to Saturday 7:30pm; Wednesday & Saturday 2pm)

Tickets £18.50 to £23.50

There will also be an exclusive opportunity to attend a post-show talk with the cast (Thursday 23 October [with captions]) as well as an Audio Described performance on Friday 3 October (7:30pm) for those with hearing impairments.

For more information visit the show page.