When a phrase becomes as ubiquitous as “Big Brother” (and we’re not even counting the reality show here), you wonder if it still holds any meaning, even when it’s coming from the original source. Meat and Potato Theatre company’s sparse but solid production of 1984 shows us that the man who wrote the book on totalitarian society still can have an impact, even on a small D.C. blackbox stage.

Part of this, of course, comes from the inarguably powerful source material; the word “Orwellian” wasn’t coined for nothing. Even without the heightened sense of urgency of seeing the show in the current political climate, the work conveys its message through poetic flair and emotional connections, not just broad themes and political platitudes. Audiences can connect with not just ideas, but characters, which makes the work’s bleak conclusion that much more devastating.

Meat and Potato’s script – adapted by company founder and frequent performer Tobin Atkinson – is nicely condensed and largely faithful to the novel. It has its contemporary touches, the main one being that Big Brother now stands in opposition to an Islamic regime. These are arguably unneccessary (I like my allegories with a bit more nuance), but it keeps the show from feeling too dated, and provides some interesting results; it’s an experience to find oneself rooting on the side of the “terrorists.”