As our modern world grapples with the threats and benefits of technological integration, Aquila Theatre’s production of 1984 provides a space to appreciate the value of individual thought — an evocative and timely narrative of personal freedom against political repression.

Written by George Orwell in 1944, near the end of World War II, 1984 depicts a society controlled by a perfectly totalitarian government bent on repressing all subversive tendencies. “Big Brother” is always watching, and technology is wielded as a weapon to inundate citizens with propaganda and monitor thoughts and actions. Imagined before the existence of computers, this dystopian future explores the power of technology as a mental manipulator and source of curated information.