1984 (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (628)
See it if You want to THINK, you don't need easy answers, you want to see truly provocative and ground-breaking theatre
Don't see it if You're squeamish, you like tidy resolutions, you're boring
See it if A great thriller! If you're a fan of the book or the horror genre in general, you'll love this play. Great set design with lots of tech.
Don't see it if you're queasy at the sight of blood, don't like the horror genre, or are prone to panic attacks. Graphic scenes of torture. Very dark.
See it if You can appreciate and be entertained by an intense drama that is uncomfortable and gory at times. This production was very well done.
Don't see it if Can't handle seeing torture depicted on stage or are sensitive to jarring light/sound effects. Avoid if looking for something light. Read more
See it if You love thought provoking plays based on novels that were meant to have us question things we know and the government we live under
Don't see it if you are uncomfortable with violence on stage, prefer light-hearted stories
See it if you're a fan of social commentary that is still relevant today, despite the show being written in a different time.
Don't see it if you can't stand intense torture scenes or blood.
See it if You love theatre that pushes boundaries and challenges the audiences minds.
Don't see it if You hate artsy theatre. Honestly I don't understand the negative reviews on this one. It was a bit overwhelming but in the best way possib
See it if You like form to complement content. You enjoy brilliant direction and staging.
Don't see it if You dislike “downtown”-style theatre. You have no patience for poor dialect work by the lead.
See it if You like to see a book you've read adapted for the stage; you want an intense experience
Don't see it if You want something with a positive resolution or light hearted moments
Critic Reviews (54)
“Without question, the director-adapters have done their darndest to make the work startlingly theatrical—an area in which they succeed. But for all its gore, sound and fury, most of Sean Spicer’s press conferences are more likely to give you nightmares...In part, the trouble with the play goes back to the source...Orwell’s novel is strong on ideas and short on narrative...The first third of the play is pointedly disorienting and extremely confusing (even if you’ve read the novel recently.)"
Read more
“An assault on the senses…And then there is the assault on the soul, with the show depicting the bludgeoning of democracy and plain humanity. It is all hard to take, but then there is no other way to do justice to George Orwell’s landmark novel…The storytelling could baffle those unfamiliar with the book, and a quick refresh before going to the play is helpful…The show doesn’t convincingly bring to life this constant invasion of privacy, but gains traction as soon as the affair is exposed.”
Read more
"Like being stuck inside an obnoxious video game. Everything is incoherence, violent for the sake of brutality and an assault on all five senses. Despite all the interesting visual gimmicks, this show traps you for well over two hours...As for the acting, Mr. Sturridge, who has been a long-time favorite of mine, is just miscast. Ms. Wilde gives an interesting Broadway debut and Mr. Birney is very creepy."
Read more
"A skin-crawling, superbly designed adaptation...Violence and fact intermingle to sinister effect. Unlike the naturalistic movie, the visual palette of this hundred-minute distillation is a bookish but canny synthesis of horror movies and European Regietheatrics...Video and disruptive light and sound transitions keep us as disoriented and doubtful of reality as Smith."
Read more
“Astonishing, riveting, and almost literally shocking…Sturridge carries the play…He is well matched by Wilde…Birney gives yet another commanding performance as the grand inquisitor…The world of this ‘1984’ is one which you’re not likely to forget, especially when the action turns wrenching. And this is not, mind you, a production for the sensitive or squeamish…No question, though, that this is a remarkable and unforgettable jolt of high-voltage theatre.”
Read more
"The idea is to makes us as unsettled and unsure as Winston as he faces the monolithic power of Big Brother. That impact is fully revealed in the final section of a harrowing, intermissionless 100 minutes in one of the most realistic depictions of torture I’ve ever seen presented on any stage...The future-historian device which reappears at the end somewhat lessens the shattering impact, but this production remains devastatingly memorable."
Read more
"Both Sturridge and Birney give remarkable performances defining the individual against the state. Olivia Wilde excels...The staging has the chilling effect that it is meant to have, and the torture scenes can send shivers down one’s spine...This theatrical version touches the right bases and, with the combination of fine acting all around and the vigorous use of staging technique, it becomes a memorable, terrifying experience that is both emotional and food for thought in today’s world."
Read more
"If the production’s otherwise disjointed and muddled storytelling up to that point allows your mind to wander, the deafening bloodbath will certainly jolt you to attention...With a love-in-a-hopeless-place plot as the story’s engine, it’s unfortunate that sparks don’t exactly fly between co-stars Sturridge and Wilde...Sturridge is listless...And though Wilde brings a vigorous energy to her Broadway debut, their tepid affair gives off little steam..It’s Birney who commands the show.”
Read more