{"id":291270,"date":"2017-02-05T06:00:57","date_gmt":"2017-02-05T06:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=291270"},"modified":"2017-02-05T06:00:57","modified_gmt":"2017-02-05T06:00:57","slug":"george-orwells-1984-heading-for-broadway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/02\/george-orwells-1984-heading-for-broadway\/","title":{"rendered":"George Orwell’s 1984 heading for Broadway"},"content":{"rendered":"
Dystopian novel 1984 has been topping US bestseller lists in recent weeks – and now a stage version previously seen in the West End is heading to Broadway.<\/p>\n
Its talk of “newspeak” and surveillance seem to have struck a nerve recently.<\/p>\n
Sales of the George Orwell book rose after US president Donald Trump’s adviser said the White House was issuing “alternative facts” over the size of the crowds at his inauguration.<\/p>\n
The Olivier Award-nominated play will open in New York in June.<\/p>\n
The team behind the production said: “There is no piece of literature or art more relevant today than Orwell’s seminal work, and the producers are excited to be bringing it to Broadway.”<\/p>\n
Spike in popularity<\/strong><\/p>\n Orwell’s novel, telling the story of Winston Smith who works at the Ministry of Truth, was published in 1949 and has not been out of print since, selling nearly 30 million copies to date.<\/p>\n In the book, society is run by The Party which is led by a shady figure called Big Brother – and yes, that’s where the phrase “Big Brother is watching you”, as well as the name of the reality show come from.<\/p>\n A key part of Orwell’s book is the way that the Party uses simplistic slogans to warp reality, like Black is White, 2+2=5, War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.<\/p>\n