For those familiar with the original work, there’s something daunting about the fact that when intermission rolls around during Catalyst Theater’s production of Christopher Gallu’s adaption of 1984, we know that all there’s really left to see is the interrogation scenes — and they aren’t going to be brief.

The decision to divide the play at this point really drives home this version’s emphasis on torture — its brutality and more importantly, its futility, as those under duress jump to confess whatever is asked of them, just to get the pain to stop. Catalyst’s designers and performers have really shown the wear and strain on these individuals – from ugly looking bruises on their appendages to their frightened, deadened expressions. The theme makes a work that’s already resonant in the current political climate that much more contemporary.