CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Broadway Production Of 1984 Is Causing Audience Members to Faint, Vomit And Get in Fights

jezebel.com: Well-heeled audiences are really having a hard time stomaching the new Broadway adaptation of 1984, with reports that viewers are fainting, vomiting and...getting in fights with each other as a result of its more alarming scenes. Finally, a theatrical production befitting of the times!

1 comment:

Gabe said...

An article with a headline the verges on the line of "clickbait" Lauren Evans really had to support her title with legitimate resources to make her article worth reading. "1984" was one of George Orwell's most famous works of literature and seemed to be converted to a stage play with some fairly gruesome scenes that have caused harm to both the actors and audience. In the overall arching goal of theatre is to inform, entertain, or persuade an audience and it seems that the shows director, Robert Icke, has missed the mark on all three. While there is something to be said about artistic expression and freedom, one has to remember that in the commercial theatre business, it mostly comes down to making money. Broadway shows have a preview phase for a reason, that reason is for the director to see how an audience reacts to a show whether it be positive or negative and make the appropriate adjustments to maximize the profits during the run of the piece. That being said, Icke was clearly more hung up on an ego of some sort, or just trying to prove a point without regard to the success of the show. During previews, when audience members are fainting, vomiting, or getting into fights it should raise an alarm that the show may have some defects that should be worked out before the official open date of the show so that audiences can fully enjoy the experience, not dread it. Broadway theatre can be a careful balance between social commentary and crude theatre, and according to audience response and reviews, the Broadway production of 1984 has tipped the scale in the wrong direction for the Hudson Theatre.