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1984 - Garden Theatre - Winter Garden, FL

By Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan

Based on the novel by George Orwell

In a world ruled by a totalitarian regime known as “The Party,” Winston Smith decides to write a diary, a crime punishable by death. Winston finds in himself the desire to join a rebellion known as “The Brotherhood,” an imperceptible group of people working against The Party.

First of all I’d like to say a huge bravo to Jack Audet, the production sound designer. Between the ambient background noise to the jarring everything else, the sound in this production was definitely the MVP. There was a distinct attempt at audience manipulation that occurred with each sound. Production sound can be underrated. If find if often goes unnoticed in local theaters and for good reason. Most of the plays I’ve seen in our community don’t use scripts that call for this manipulation. Sometimes, even when sound is used in these productions, not enough rehearsal is set aside and the effects are lost or aren’t timed well. Being fortunate enough to work with audio engineers and foley artists, I have grown increasingly aware of the lack of it’s use and encourage all of our local productions to experiment with sound design.

The production had a few interesting choices with set, which was minimal except for the hidden bedroom seen mostly through a camera and projected to the screen on stage. This choice continued the feeling of disconnect throughout the show until the room was revealed behind a false wall at the back of the stage.


I never felt emotionally invested in these characters. Much of the production’s rehearsal time seemed to be spent on the tricks of the show including pre recorded video footage and live camera feeds. If the director had spent more time assisting the performers in developing the characters, the stakes would have felt higher which, I believe, would have allowed the audience to connect. The actors all seemed to speak there lines correctly with emotion but the reasons why they they felt those emotions were lost and so connection between the characters was also lost.


Over all the show was predictable. Brian Zealand has a few good moments but the emotional detachment most of the cast had caused his moments to fall flat. I hope to see this actor in a production with stronger character development. Brian is interesting to watch and I believe this production did not highlight his abilities well.


I find the Garden Theatre does better with Disney style productions or shows that aren’t as cutting edge. I want to encourage all directors in our community to focus more on the character relationships and development. I think back to a high school production of Our Town with a set that was mostly pantomimed aside from two ladders and a mirror. I left that show with an understanding that what is most important in our story telling is the relationships the characters had.


I appreciate the hard work and effort everyone put in to this show. I know any production done has risk involved and I applaud the theater for their efforts.


That being said, with a community full of talented people I think we need to set our standards higher. There is no reason for this community to have anything less than productions that do what live theater is supposed to do. Change people.


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