I fancy a trip to the theatre. What’s on?
Why would you spend an evening in an uncomfortable seat, taking nil by mouth, watching strangers in the distance pretend to be someone else?
My, aren’t you the culture vulture? I enjoy doing that because while you are strange, I am normal, and normal people go to the theatre. So I repeat: what’s on?
A new production of 1984. Guaranteed to make you see sense, ie my point of view.
What do you mean?
Audiences have been screaming, fainting and vomiting. On some nights the police have been called to intervene and restrain audience members from shouting.
I don’t believe you. British audiences do not engage in public screaming, fainting or vomiting. They would rather walk over hot coals than shout out in a darkened theatre.
In that at least, you are correct. This production of 1984 is on Broadway. It seems reasonable to assume, therefore, that the audience is mainly American.
And what sort of xenophobic, borderline racist conclusion are you going to draw from that?
That they are prone to overreaction and uncontrolled displays of public emotion.
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What a special person you are. What is causing these poor people such distress?
Graphic torture scenes. Four people fainted in one performance and the actress Jennifer Lawrence ran out to the foyer, where she promptly threw up. Although allegedly that was because she caught flu from her nephew, not because of the torture.
I have to say, I thought better of Jen. What do the producers say?
That they are not actively seeking to shock people, but merely to reflect “what is happening right now”.
Whatever could they mean?
Who knows? There are definitely no parallels between an Orwellian dystopia and the Trump administration, for example.
Obviously not. Nobody could look at America right now and conclude that the nation’s clocks were striking 13.
Indeed. Although you live in Brexit Britain, so you know what it sounds like.