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As the stage version of 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' begins its West End run, we check up on present-day London to see how many of Orwell's grim predictions have come true
LONDON The capital of ‘Airstrip One’ (as Britain has been renamed) is a city of ‘rotting nineteenth-century houses’ with a failing infrastructure whose skyline is dominated by the Ministry of Truth: ‘an enormous pyramidal structure, soaring up… terrace after terrace, 300 metres into the air’.
LONDON A city of rotting nineteenth-century houses
with a failing infrastructure, whose skyline is dominated by The Shard: an enormous pyramidal structure of glittering glass, soaring up, floor after floor, 306 metres into the air… with a Time Out silent disco at the top.
PROCREATION Raising children is only possible within
a state-authorised relationship, with a partner for life approved by the ruling elite. Casual hanky-panky is
classed as ‘sexcrime’.
PROCREATION Raising children is only possible within a house in zone 5, with a mortgage for life approved by your bank. Casual hanky-panky is classed as the standard outcome of a Tinder date.
DOUBLETHINK Saying one thing and meaning it absolutely while simultaneously meaning the exact opposite.
GENERATION Y-RONY ‘I love ’90s chart pop!’ ‘Vice magazine is the only news source I trust!’
ROOM 101 A state-run torture chamber which brings you face-to-face with your worst fear.
RADIO 1 A state-run radio station which brings you face-to-face with Nick Grimshaw.
THE TWO-MINUTE HATE In ‘1984’ the workers are required to daily vent their frustrations with an officially sanctioned, communal two minutes of mindless rage at enemies of the state.
THE TWO-HOUR COMMUTE ‘Move down the carriage! Have you never heard of deodorant? Let passengers
off the train first! I won’t say anything, but I am going to tweet so angrily about this when I get off. Stand on the right!’
WINSTON SMITH A mild-mannered, low-level ministry employee who bucks the system and must go into Room 101 for his insurrection.
JULIAN ASSANGE An outspoken, high-profile radical who bucks the system and must go into London’s Ecuadorian embassy. Possibly for ever.
BIG BROTHER A terrifying figurehead for the totalitarian ‘Party’ that rules Britain. Most people are in thrall to BB
even though they’re not sure he even exists.
BIG BORIS A boffo figurehead for the Tory Party that sort of rules Britain. Most people find BJ strangely captivating even though they’re not sure what he actually does all day.
Discover Time Out original video