ADN Points of View 2018: POV Participants Watch '1984'

It's still a week from the start of POV 2018, but the participants have already watched their first performance! On 26 Apr, the Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA) opened with the UK stage adaptation of George Orwell's dystopian classic 1984 playing at the Esplanade Theatre. 

While the POV participants had attended 1984 in preparation for their first workshop on 4 May, some already had immediate responses to the production.

Freelance artist Sabrina Sng, who joins the Performance Making track, posted on her Instagram (@sabrinasngyl) how deeply impressed she was by the production: "This adaptation created by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan is hands-down an incredible work of the theatre. I was literally kept on the edge of my seat the whole time. Deep admiration for the cast and creative team, what vision!"*

Performing Writing track participant Ke Weiliang, however, expressed on Facebook a desire for a more realistic, understated portrayal of state control: "My main gripe with the work is how it articulates surveillance. At least I feel surveillance in 2018 is way more discreet and subtle compared to how overwhelming it seems to be depicted in the show... Looking at the scene transitions alone, it's quite clear that subtlety is the last thing this production cares about. And unfortunately this blatant absence of subtlety did not sit well with me."

In addition to 1984, POV participants will be attending SIFA performances over the 9-day course period, developing their responses in Performance Writing and Making workshops and dialogues.

Stay tuned to this blog space for more coverage of POV 2018 next week!

Published: 28 April 2018