1984 presented by AstonRep Theatre Company at Raven Theatre

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Director Robert Tobin's program notes for his AstonRep Theatre Company production of 1984 says he was inspired to tackle the material by "the recent political climate." Unfortunately, in trying to bring George Orwell's great 1949 story to the stage for 2017 audiences, he's turned to a bland, mediocre 1963 adaptation that feels as if it was written for high school actors half a century ago. Scripted by Robert Owens, Wilton E. Hall Jr., and William A. Miles Jr., this stiff, stodgy play drives home Orwell's ever-timely message-about how governments can manipulate language and knowledge for power over their people-but fails to make the audience care about the characters whose actions trigger that theme."

Stage and Cinema - Recommended

"...Overall 1984 is both enriched and depleted by its adherence to its source. This is an invigoratingly austere look at a fear-ravaged England rancid with paid informers. It's also 105 minutes of very dark energy. Or, as Orwell chillingly and paradoxically put it, "Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious." Fear trumps freedom."

Third Coast Review - Recommended

"...AstonRep's new production works smoothly, based on fine acting and the Orwellian language. Director Robert Tobin's straightforward staging doesn't mince words, Newspeak or not. The overall theme is stated repeatedly in the slogans of Oceania's ruling party, appearing on telescreens and on posters mounted all around the theater space."

Chicago Theater and Arts - Highly Recommended

"...The production is powerful and provocative as wonderfully convincing characters transport the audience to the frightening nation of Oceania."

Picture This Post - Somewhat Recommended

"...Amy Kasper as torturer power fiend O'Brien and Rory Jobst as her sadistic henchman give performances that go a long way in making Orwell's disturbing message reach into your core. For this writer though, watching the performance unleashed a nagging wonder if much of the acting was lacking or the script per se, with an eventual conclusion it was both. This reviewer perhaps came to see AstonRep with highest bar expectations for top-notch acting set by the troupe's prior performances. Most audience members will likely not be troubled by this and will likely be better able to take this timely tale more at face value."

NewCity Chicago - Recommended

"...Ray Kasper's Winston fully emerges in the second act of the play when he is being tortured by O'Brien (Amy Kasper). Casting Amy Kasper in the role of O'Brien, typically played by a male, adds impact to the onstage chemistry between the characters and the abusive and controlling relationship O'Brien holds over Winston. After starting and stopping his torture, O'Brien cradles Winston like a mother holding a child. The torture scenes in this adaptation do not induce nausea but fear by allowing the audience to apply their own wild imagination to sounds and implied actions/movements. Psychological torture is interpreted into psychological manipulation, allowing the story to translate over into the mind of the viewer."