Yuka Sooda
“This year’s High School Drama Club production is an original adaptation by Nicolas Gregoriades, the Director of Fine Arts and Head of Drama at Saint Maur International School, of George Orwell’s dystopian classic “1984“. It features three Winstons (the protagonist) and an ensemble of 16 actors who have been guided by Grade 10 student, Yuka, in some spectacular feats of physical theatre. In addition, there will be two different casts – one a “traditional gender” cast, which will perform on Friday, November 23rd at 6 pm and the other, a “reverse gender” cast, where all roles will be played by members of the opposite sex on Saturday, November 24th at 5 pm.
This is a small attempt at trying to overcome centuries of male dominance in the theatre and to allow the young women who attend Saint Maur to experience more complex and varied roles. These strategies should allow you to see this mid-twentieth century story from a modern and fresh perspective.
Tickets are 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for students and will be available to purchase at the school store from October 30th. If you attend both performances, the second ticket will be half-price. Please note that there are some scenes of violence and torture which may not be suitable for younger viewers. Parental guidance is highly advised, especially for children in elementary school. Refreshments will be available to purchase on both nights, courtesy of the PSG. Please note that no parking will be available and the shows will start promptly at 6 pm (Friday) or 5 pm (Saturday) and latecomers will only be admitted at a suitable time. To find out more about the production, check out the Facebook page fb.me/saintmaur1984 and/or subscribe to the Saint Maur Drama Department YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtSxoAMH-Wd7S5G7XvTXD2A (or search for Saint Maur Drama Department on YouTube). If you have any questions about the production, please do not hesitate to contact the director at ngregoriades@stmaur.ac.jp.”
The play “After 1984”, based on the novel “1984” by George Orwell, sets itself aside from a typical high school play- the heavy connotations in every scene serves to give the audience a feeling of unsettlement. Indeed, that is exactly the purpose. The play addresses many issues relevant not only to Orwell’s time, but also to many aspects of society today. With the rise of AI (Artificial Intelligence), we are forced to watch the characters, similar to ourselves, be succumbed by the overwhelming surveillance of an oppressive government. With the play addressing many ethical concerns of AI surveillance, the concept of a totalitarian government, and the emotions and personalities of the human race, the audience can only watch as the world of Orwell’s 1984 unfolds before our eyes.
The play also attacks the concept of gender reverse casts, where females play male roles, and males play female roles. Indeed, the play has two sets of casts (excluding the ensemble)- an original and gender reverse cast.
The concept of gender reversing, although more important now than ever before, have been around since Shakespearean times. There seems to be a unaddressed allure to the telling of tales in different lights, prominent in the depiction of Julia- In the original gender cast, Julia, (played by Julia Turner) shows Julia as she is in the books; a beautiful woman, empty in the head and only “a rebel from the waist down”. In the gender reverse cast, Julian, (played by Louis Hyuma Hagenbucher) shows a suave, passionate young man, free of troubles and single-minded. The same shallowness is depicted in both genders, as the unfortunate Julia was written in a very single-dimensioned manner. But, seeing a young man in the same position, with an ambitious woman at his side, unsettles some of us, and inspires others.
O’brien and Winston engage in conversation
With such heavy atmosphere, it seems the play tells us nothing but failure and confinement. However, as that of Orwell’s intentions, we can view the play from a more optimistic view- we must act as ourselves, answer to reason and logic, and most of all, as Winston implores of us in the play,
“Rise up!
Rise up!
Rise up!”