Plymouth Theatre Review

Easy to Follow: 3

Family Friendly: 2.5

Must see: 3.5

Venue: The Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth

Date: 21/01/26

 ‘1984’ is a dystopian thriller which throws you into a world of control, surveillance and violence. It focuses on the story of Winston, a man who dares to think against ‘The Party’, the people who control Oceana (where the story is set), and how his attempt to resist causes him a great deal of suffering. ‘1984‘ was written in 1949 by George Orwall and was later adapted for stage by Nick Hern (2021). I am thoroughly impressed with The Tamaritans Theatre Company’s production of ‘1984‘, they have delivered a performance which is captivating, thought provoking and intense all whilst showcasing excellent performance skills. 

 Entering The Drum I felt like I was in a different world, a red glow covered the audience and two actors stood one stage in guard uniforms wielding batons, it was an intimidating but intriguing first impression. The stage itself felt cold, prison like, which makes sense given the context of the play. The CCTV cameras were an excellent decision, and the way they were pointing at the audience made me feel like I was being observed from the beginning.

 In terms of direction I thoroughly enjoyed the use of spacing, there was not a place on stage which felt empty or abandoned and whenever someone was on stage it felt purposeful. Being able to take the audience through a story which is essentially a play in a play for act one is very difficult and I think the directors (Steve Baker and Alfred Hurst) did a brilliant job of keeping the story flowing and engaging. I particularly enjoyed the use of freeze frames and lighting as well as the physical theatre (the ensemble acting as a bush) . I would have liked to see more physical theatre moments, as I think it would have added an extra layer of depth to the scenes. One thing I think could have been improved upon was the stage combat. Moments which were meant to be striking and quite scary didn’t quite have that impact because the actors did not really react to the hits, but this is something that is very difficult to do and requires a lot of training so I am super impressed with how it was delivered on stage. 

 The actors on the whole did a fantastic job. I was very impressed with the entire ensemble’s commitment to their characters. There were very few moments where I didn’t see characters in the background reacting to what lines were being delivered, this made the play feel alive. One actor in particular was great at this; Alfred Hurst who plays Winston showed great commitment to his role as he was always reacting through body language and facial expressions to what was going on especially during the recreation moments featuring Winston Two (James Allwood) and Julia (Lara Cook). Lara Cook and James Allwood both delivered exceptional performances and had a great chemistry between them. I was particularly impressed with Lara Cook who took on the role of Julia, the more daring of the pair, her use of body language and pacing brought the stage to life as she led us, and Winston, on a terrifying journey. Another actor who delivered an exceptional performance was Tim Randell who played O’Brien the antagonist of the play. Randell delivered a performance which was absolutely gripping, his words were like daggers and his stage presence alone was captivating, every syllable he delivered was clearly thought through and picked apart to find the best delivery. It was incredible to watch. The duologue between Alfred Hurst’s Winston and O’Brien was phenomenal, both actors were feeding off the others energy and it created this terrifying scene of desperation and distress. One thing to work on for the entire cast would be breath work and finding different ways to perform lines. It is a very wordy play and something that can help break down the wordiness is playing around with rhythm, inflections and pauses so moments can be emphasised on a greater scale. This is something that was done, but I would have liked to see more. 

Overall, I am blown away by the entire crew, from wardrobe to directors, actors to set design. This was a thought provoking and well delivered performance. The Tamaritans have done a great job at captivating the terror and evil that is present throughout ‘1984‘ and I can’t wait to see what they do next.As an extra bonus I applaud The Tamaritans for including trigger warnings in both their programme and booking page, this allows an audience to be more informed on what they are watching and makes it more accessible!

Reviewed by Joe Neville

*Gifted – This theatre review was written following a gifted ticket to the performance. However, all opinions and views expressed in this review are entirely that of the reviewer and the review has not been influenced in any way by the provision of the ticket. Our commitment remains to provide an honest and unbiased assessment of the experience.