Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo star in Audible adaptation of George Orwell’s ‘1984’

Mumbai, Apr 5 (PTI) British stars Andrew Garfield and Cynthia Erivo are part of Audible’s adaptation of renowned author George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece “1984”.

The three actors, along with popular stars Andrew Scott and Tom Hardy have lent their voices for the new take, which premiered on Audible’s platform on Thursday. The company specialises in producing audio entertainment content.

The novel, which was published in 1949, is set in Airstrip One (formerly known as Great Britain), a province of the superstate Oceania in a world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance, and public manipulation.

The province is dictated by a political system euphemistically named English Socialism (or Ingsoc in the government’s invented language, Newspeak) under the control of a privileged Inner Party elite that persecutes individualism and independent thinking as ‘thought crimes’.

Garfield leads the adaptation as the protagonist Winston, with Erivo as Winston’s lover Julia, Scott as the alluring, mysterious and dangerous O’Brien, and Hardy as the infamous Big Brother. Garfield, best known for movies such as “Hacksaw Ridge”, “Angels in America”, “Under the Silver Lake” and “99 Homes”, said he is grateful to have got the opportunity to be playing Winston in “1984”.

“I’m very grateful to Audible to be a part of this new incarnation of Orwell’s radical, political classic, 1984. A classic that, disappointingly, humanity seems to need to be constantly engaged with. To keep ourselves awake and remembering that we each have a soul, and that that soul is full of beauty and value. “And how vital it is for each of us to resist the forces that wish to subdue and strangle that collective soul. The cast and crew is clearly the best of the best of British and Irish talent. It was truly a joy to tell this story for an audience hungry for their own liberation,” the Oscar-nominated actor said in a statement.

The audio version is directed by BAFTA award-winning Destiny Ekaragha and penned by Olivier Award-nominated writer Joe White. According to Audible, the show stays faithful to the original text, leaning into the horror of the dystopian setting, whilst going deeper into Winston and Julia’s love story. In a world where love and sex are forbidden, Winston and Julia are the last lovers on earth, the official synopsis read.

“1984” cast also includes Romesh Ranganathan as Parsons, Natasia Demetriou as Mrs Parsons, Chukwudi Iwuji as Charrington, Francesca Mills as Syme, Katie Leung as Ling, and Alex Lawther as Ampleforth, among others. The Audible Original adaptation has been officially authorised and endorsed by the Orwell Estate. Matthew Bellamy and Ilan Eshkeri serve as co-creators of the soundtrack of “1984”.