George Orwells cautionary tale about a future where 2+2=5 is coming to Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts next month for one night only on Oct. 4 at 8 p.m.

Orwells novel, which was published in 1949, imagines the world being ruled by three totalitarian superstates: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia.

In addition to living in a perpetual state of warfare against each other, the superpowers utilize propaganda and government surveillance against their own populations. The story takes place in Great Britain renamed Airstrip One, which is part of Oceania and governed by the all-seeing figure Big Brother.

The Aquila Theatre, a New York City-based theatre company that began in London nearly 30 years ago, is behind the upcoming stage production in Patchogue. We recently spoke with key members of the show, which has been adapted by Michael Gene Sullivan.

Reece Richardson, a London resident, plays Winston Smith, the shows protagonist.

Smith works as a clerk in the records department of the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites historical documents to suit the governments needs. Numerous actors have portrayed the iconic everyman over the decades, but perhaps the most famous was the late John Hurt in Michael Radfords film adaption, which was also released in the year 1984.

Richardson, who grew up in a small village just outside York in North Yorkshire, England, was first introduced to 1984 in school. [The book] is an extremely honest look at how a culture can be dissected and manipulated into censoring itself, the actor said, noting that he didnt fully understand the gravity of the story when he first read it.

The chance to explore such a dynamic and iconic book is something that immediately interested me, he said. I feel that 1984 is now, almost more so than ever, extremely relevant. I think one of the things that most excites me about playing Winston is that he is an everyman that the audience can hopefully relate to and therefore experience the alternative reality that [the story] exists in.

When asked about how he feels in the moments before the curtain goes up and the show begins, Richardson said, A mixture of quiet focus and nerves. Always nerves. I think the day I stop getting nervous before I go onstage is the day I quit acting.

Director Desiree Sanchez, a Connecticut native who now lives in New York City, remembers hearing about 1984 for the first time while in high school, where she had to read another Orwell book, Animal Farm. She didnt read 1984 until a couple of years later.

I was very struck by [the novels] relevance and a bit saddened by how much we have, in many ways, surpassed Orwells prediction of Big Brothers ability to monitor our daily lives, the director said, adding that todays technology allows anyone to be monitored and studied in a variety of ways. The difference, however, is that we have willingly given up our privacy.

Sanchez says Orwells doublespeak bears a resemblance to what our society has deemed fake news, while the telescreens in the fictitious world are eerily similar to our smart phones and social media platforms, as well as virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa.

I wanted to direct this play because its so relevant, the director said. I am aware that this book has recently become quite political and has unfortunately been used by extremists to justify their positions. Orwell was very much against any form of extremism and saw how dangerous these tendencies were to society.

I hope that by presenting this play, we can remind ourselves how important it is to retain our sense of humanity and that we must question any cause or agenda that requires the loss of our humanity, Sanchez added.

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'1984' coming to Patchogue Theatre - Long Island Advance