Winston Smith is an ordinary civil servant in London in the totalitarian superstate of Oceania. Through propaganda posters and screens, Big Brother is ever-present, and Smith and his fellow residents are under constant surveillance by the thought police. When Smith falls for the charismatic Julia, his life changes drastically. 

Obviously, our theme programme 1984 Re:Imagined couldn’t do without Michael Radford’s classic film adaptation 1984. John Hurt excels as Winston Smith, but it’s Richard Burton (in his last role) who’s unforgettable as the terrifying inquisitor O’Brien. This bleak science fiction film is of course based on George Orwell’s 1984, the influential literary classic and reading list staple. The book even permanently altered our language by popularising new words like thoughtcrime, doublethink and newspeak. After Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017, Orwell’s 1984 suddenly reappeared at the top of the bestseller lists. A totalitarian dystopia suddenly felt dangerously close. What about now?