Decades after its publication in 1949, George Orwell's dystopian novel, "1984," remains an important part of our culture and the collective consciousness. Terms such as Newspeak and Big Brother are part of everyday vocabulary, and the very mention of "1984" conjures a dark vision of the future. The story certainly has new resonance in this age of global hyper-surveillance.
Several filmmakers have adapted the landmark work, and now the Broad Stage in Santa Monica is presenting the U.S. premiere of a production by London's Headlong theater company.
The Frame's John Horn recently spoke with Matthew Spencer about taking on the challenging lead role of Winston Smith.
Interview Highlights
Had you read the novel "1984" before auditioning for the part?
No. I mean, I knew of Big Brother and all those kind of things that are in our everyday usage, and I knew that it came from this novel. But I hadn't read it before getting the call for the first audition. I think it topped — or came very close to — a poll in the U.K. recently of the novels people claim to have read but actually haven't ... It felt like that for me, I thought, I must have read that, surely everyone's read that. But I hadn't before joining the cast.
A lot of what Orwell wrote about didn't come true. But do you think there are some general themes about the way we talk about politics — the way we are forbidden to talk about certain things without being considered subversive — that have proven to be more true than others?
Well, it's interesting what you say there about how we talk about things. Because I find the language is most interesting about how the news is reported. About how the politics frame things ... what words they use to describe torture... The subtle difference between using the word refugee and immigrant, and the very insidious nature of manipulating an audience into wanting to feel something without really knowing that you're being manipulated. That's the thing that is quite scary.
When you were thinking about staging the play, what made it a theatrical possibility?
That [was] a really important question for the creators when we were first looking at it: Why put on a play that originated from a book when you can just read the book? Interesting the audience in a way that was unexpected was part of that first rehearsal. How can we really screw with the audience's minds?
Well let's talk about that a little bit, because people who have read "1984" know that there are scenes of torture. Winston Smith ends up in Room 101 where unimaginably horrible things happen. Do you have a sense of how far you can go and how far is too far?
When we get to that point in the play, without giving too much away, it's really great to see the whites of the audience's eyes. There is a moment where we can really eyeball the audience and it's something you don't usually get in a play. For the actor, you don't really get to see what your audience is thinking or doing or feeling. So it's really fun to ride that wave of pushing the boundaries of how far we can go.
What do you find personally appealing in the character of Winston Smith?
It's funny to say it, but it's a lot of fun playing this character... There is a fantastic journey that Winston goes on in terms of his discovery of Julia, of that relationship, of rebelling. And so as an actor you get to visit every part of human life in that 101 minutes. It's very satisfying to go on that journey and complete it each show.
There are a lot of moments in the play that are very physically challenging. Is there a part that you look forward to every evening when you go on stage?
There's a line in the play that one of the characters says: "It's time." And when we get to "It's time," I do kind of look forward to exploring what that will then entail. Absolutely, I do enjoy being able to go through the gamut of emotions that Winston goes through.