Starting Sept. 1, both the audience and Big Brother can watch George Orwell’s “1984” at the Hippodrome State Theatre.
The play is meant to create discussion between audience members, said Lauren Caldwell, the Hippodrome’s artistic director. The Hippodrome is partnering with UF School of Theatre and Dance for the production.
Previews begin Aug. 30 and Aug. 31 at 7 p.m., and the play runs from Sept. 1 to Sept. 24. Ticket prices range from $15 to $35, and are on sale at the Hippodrome box office and online.
The Hippodrome will also host panels for One City, One Story, a series of events related to the play. Panels will be held periodically from Aug. 24 to Sept. 18. Events will feature an Orwellian scholar, a fake news panel and conversations with the actors, Caldwell said.
Niall McGinty, the actor who plays the male lead, said the play doesn’t promote one political viewpoint but rather forces the audience to question their beliefs.
“When one person reads it, it’s kind of like a mirror, and you can kind of see your own viewpoints in it,” he said.
Caldwell said audience members should expect the play to tell Orwell’s story without a political slant. She said her job is to tell the story and let the audience decide what to take from it themselves.
“I’m not trying to tell the story from a left-wing or a right-wing point of view,” she said. “It’s a show about a warning, and some of those warnings have come true; some haven’t.”
@Christina_M18
cmorales@alligator.org
