All about Orwell

If you're a fan of George Orwell's work, then an upcoming performance in the city will make your weekend better. For, it will be shown how the concept of surveillance that the author spoke about, is relevant even today. Conceptualised and directed by John Britton, Whirlpool, a Company Theatre Production, is about four actors - played by Avantika Bahl Goyal, Srishti Shrivastava, Abhishek Krishnan and Manjari Kaul - prepa­r­ing for a show with a director who wa­t­ches the rehearsals on surveillance ca­meras. It shows how the voice of the director goes from instructional to controlling to abusive, over time.

Those who have read 1984 will know that Orwell understood that sur­veillance was the main tool that totalitarian governments increasingly employed as they sought to control the populace. He also came to the conclusion that privacy, freedom of thought and unrecorded interpersonal communication were all anathema to state control. "What he didn't see was how the birth of the Internet would change the nature of surveillance. In his time, it was intrusive and violent. The Internet has made it pervasive and 'user-friendly'; but the intention stays the same - control," says Kaul.

John Britton

The final victory of the state in 1984 is when Winston, the protagonist, is made to feel that he actually loves Big Brother, who is the embodiment of a totalitarian regime. And now, Manjari says, "We have learned to love [and be addicted to] our own big brother embedded in our phones. The idea of trying to rethink how Orwell might be re-imagined in an age where some of his direst prediction have become commonplace, seemed interesting," adding that she first read Orwell's masterpiece in college. The show is relevant to the times of surveillance capitalism we live in, where personal information and online activity are monitored and regulated by corporations for profit.

ON May 4 and 5, 8 pm
AT G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture, G-5/A, Laxmi Mills Estate, Mahalakshmi West
CALL 8879208475
LOG ON TO bookmyshow.com
COST Rs 500

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