ignorance is strength
war is peace
freedom is slavery

The system controls everything. The eyes of the regime are everywhere. A screen in every room sees and records everything: movements, thoughts, feelings. There is no individuality or privacy. One wrong thought or flicker of emotion will lead to inevitable demise. You can trust no one. Not even yourself. Everyday life is directed and controlled by the party. The will of Big Brother defines the truth of the past, the present and the future.

There was a time when things were different. Probably. People could decide for themselves how to live and what to strive for. When was that? My memories are too vague to be sure of anything. Does anyone remember? Does anyone else feel that the system is thoroughly rotten? What to do? Whom to trust? Should I resist and risk everything? Or hold back, refrain from thinking and live my life as unnoticed as possible, serving the system?  

We shall meet. In the place where there is no darkness. 

Director Taavi Tõnisson:  ‘I recently happened to see a meme “Please, make Orwell fiction again!” Orwell’s dystopian future has almost become a reality. The question of hope touches me. Is there a force out there that can change the course? Or is crushing and destroying all that is human in the name of ideological conviction the only way? Are we stepping into a frantic centrifuge where the human soul has no value? Or is there still hope for a better, brighter and more humane world? We seem to be at a crossroads again and only time will tell which regime and value system will prove to be more permanent.’

The collaborative production of the Estonian Theatre for Young Audiences and the Drama School of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre combines elements of drama, visual and physical theatre. 

Attention!
The performance includes smoking (health-safe, nicotine-free stage smoke), gunshots, haze, flashing lights, loud sounds, and vulgar language.

Cast

Students of the 32nd class of the EAMT Drama School Alex Paul Pukk, Uku Pokk, Erik Hermaküla, Joonas Koff, Mirjam Aavakivi, Erling Eding, Eliis-Maria Koit, Mauri Liiv, Mattias Nurga, Katarina Sits, Carolyn Veensalu and actors of the Estonian Theatre for Young Audiences Anti Kobin, Joosep Uus, Steffi Pähn, Tiina Tõnis  

Director Taavi Tõnisson
Translators Ragne Kepler, Tiit Kusnets, Rünno Vissak, Tõnis Arro
Dramatisers Mihkel Seeder and students of the 32^nd class of the EAMT Drama School Maarja Moor and Joosep Lõhmus
Designer Kristjan Suits
Movement director and choreographer Ingmar Jõela 
Composer Markus Robam 
Video designer Emer Värk 
Lighting designer Priidu Adlas (Estonian Drama Theatre)