Andrew Garfield (‘The Amazing Spider-Man’) and Cynthia Erivo (‘Wicked’) lead the cast of Audible’s new audio thriller based on George Orwell’s classic story ‘1984’.
Garfield stars as Winston with Erivo as Julia. Alongside them, Tom Hardy (‘Inception’) voices Big Brother and Andrew Scott (‘All of Us Strangers’) plays alluring, mysterious and dangerous O’Brien. The cast also features Romesh Ranganathan as Parsons, Natasia Demetriou as Mrs Parsons, Chukwudi Iwuji as Charrington, Francesca Mills as Syme, Katie Leung as Ling, Alex Lawther as Ampleforth alongside a full ensemble.
Transporting listeners into the dystopian world of ‘1984’, Muse’s front-man, producer and songwriter, Matthew Bellamy and award-winning composer Ilan Eshkeri (BBC’s ‘A Perfect World’) have created an original score performed by a 60-piece orchestra at Abbey Road studios, featuring reworkings of two of Muse’s most iconic tracks. The production is underpinned by a visceral, haunting soundscape, and mixed in Dolby Atmos.
Directed by BAFTA award winning Destiny Ekaragha (‘Ted Lasso’), this Audible Original adaptation, penned by Olivier Award nominated writer Joe White (‘Blackout Songs’) 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.
Destiny Ekaragha said: “This is my first experience directing an audio drama, and what an honour it was to work so closely with a cast of this calibre. I can’t wait for everyone to hear what the Andrews, Cynthia and Tom have done with these iconic characters.”
Aurelie de Troyer, Head of Regional Content, Europe at Audible said: “This is ‘1984’ like you’ve never heard it before. We’ve assembled a top team of creatives across the board, and the combination of the principal cast and Matt and Ilan’s epic soundtrack is something quite extraordinary. Andrew Garfield was born to play Winston – just wait until you hear his performance.”
The adaptation has been officially authorised and endorsed by the Orwell Estate with Richard Blair, George Orwell’s son, calling it “sensational” with a “brilliant cast”.
‘George Orwell’s 1984’, an Audible Original, is planned to release globally on April 4th 2024, exactly 40 years after the date of Winston’s first diary entry. It is available to pre-order now exclusively on audible at audible.co.uk/1984.
