Tim Hughes talks to Creation Theatre about their timely production of Orwell's classic 1984

War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength...

When George Orwell wrote his damning indictment of authoritarianism 1984, it seemed a nightmarish glimmer into a very distant future. However, his world of surveillance, superstates, proxy wars, 'doublethink' and 'newspeak' was disturbingly prescient – becoming a feature of the world we see around us today.

While written in the 1940s, and actually a critique of the totalitarianism he saw developing at the time, his dystopian tragedy can hardly be more relevant. We are being fed a diet of spin, lies and propaganda and we are being watching – more than ever before.

A good time, then, to stage a production of Orwell's tour de force, which has been brought to life by Oxford's Creation Theatre in the stunning setting of the Mathematical Institute’s Andrew Wiles building, off Woodstock Road, Oxford.

“We are increasingly being overtaken by an Orwellian 1984 world,” says Jonathan Holloway, who wrote and directs the production, which is based on his 2013 radio play for BBC Radio 4.

“Instead of the obviously corrupt world of Stalin’s 1940s, we are now living in a culture where people are paying for their own surveillance – and buying telescreens through which information about them can be gathered,” he says.

"Orwell, like so many others, would have found it an uncomfortable place."

He invited audiences to expect a contemporary twist on the classic.

"1984 is a bit like Jekyll and Hyde," he says. "It loses potency as everyone reads the story for GCSE. We didn't just want to do a run through of a story with which people are familiar, but we didn't want to play fast and loose with it either.

"You'll see a familiar friend in new costume – but I can't tell you how it ends. There is just a chance it may turn out differently... we give the impression things may end well."

Deputy Producer Ginny Graham said the futuristic, RIBA award-winning mathematical institute was the perfect venue for Creation – which has previously staged productions at the Cowley Mini plant, parks, college gardens and on the streets of the city centre.

"Every Creation show is very different," she says. "This is very much 1984, but not what you may expect.

"It's really exciting. If theatre is too easy it can be boring, so we are always on the look out for new spaces and the Mathematical Institute is a big part of this production.

"It’s a beautiful award-winning building which is all about technology. We have moved away from intricate sets and are using the space a bit more. There are lots of floors, windows, quiet spaces and enclosed bits as well as open areas around which the actors can move.

" As well as being a beautiful space, lots of people haven't been there."

Of course the book's notorious torture chamber Room 101 also figures. Ginny says: "There are lots of cameras and a hint of a rat – though no live animals will be harmed!"

Creation Theatre’s 1984 is at the Mathematical Institute, Woodstock Road. Until March 5. Call 01865 766266 or go to creationtheatre.co.uk