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George Orwell’s 1984

Written by: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, Tom Hardy, Chukwudi Iwuji, Romesh Ranganathan, Natasia Demetriou, Francesca Mills, Alex Lawther, Katie Leung
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Publisher's Summary

From the age of uniformity.
From the age of solitude and doublethink.
From the age of Big Brother.
From me, Winston Smith.
Greetings.

It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.

Starring Andrew Garfield as Winston, Cynthia Erivo as Julia, Andrew Scott as the alluring, mysterious O’Brien, and featuring Tom Hardy as Big Brother, Audible presents a new dramatization of George Orwell’s classic tale. An immersive listening experience like none you’ve heard before, at a time when it has all never felt more chillingly relevant.

Featuring a haunting original score composed by Muse’s lead singer and songwriter Matthew Bellamy and Ilan Eshkeri, recorded by the London Metropolitan Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios, the production is directed by BAFTA Award winner Destiny Ekaragha, produced in Dolby Atmos by Granny Eats Wolf, and dramatised by Olivier Award nominated writer Joe White.

Also starring Chukwudi Iwuji, Romesh Ranganathan, Natasia Demetriou, Francesca Mills, Alex Lawther and Katie Leung.

Featuring Ian Abeysekera, Rachel Atkins, Grace Baker, Joanna Brookes, Clare Corbett, Doug Devaney, Imogen Front, Sam Garioch, Raj Ghatak, Frances Jeater, Mason Moore, Yasmin Mwanza, Harry Myers, Kaelum Nelson, John Sackville, Sienna Sangha, Sam Stafford, Jo Troy, Jenny White, Sarah Whitehouse & Alix Wilton Regan

This adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 is an immersive listening experience, containing scenes that some may find uncomfortable. Listener discretion is advised.

Available in Dolby Atmos.
©The Estate of the late Sonia Brownell Orwell / Public Domain (P)2023 Audible Ltd
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Who controls the past, controls the future.

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Political Classics Dystopian
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Listen to the Trailer

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1984, An Audible Original Drama
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  • Trailer
  • 1984, An Audible Original Drama
Joe White
Destiny Ekaragha
Matthew Bellamy
Ilan Eshkeri

About the Writer

Joe White is an Olivier-nominated writer of stage, screen, and audio. He is the writer of the hit West End musical The Little Big Things and award-winning plays Blackout Songs (Olivier Nomination) and Mayfly (winner of Off West End Most Promising Playwright). For Audible, his eight-part eco-thriller The Nox (starring Lashana Lynch) was nominated for Best Drama at the ARIA Awards. Previously, Joe was a member of BBC Pilot, The Old Vic 12, and the Royal Court Studio group, and was a recipient of the Channel 4 Playwriting Award and The JB Priestley Award for writers of promise.

About the Director

Destiny Ekaragha is a UK-based director who was named BAFTA Breakthrough Brit in 2014. Her award-winning feature comedy Gone Too Far! premiered at London Film Festival and played at TIFF. Destiny directed Danny and the Human Zoo, written by the acclaimed comedian Lenny Henry for Red Productions/BBC One. She has directed primetime UK television such as Silent Witness, international drama including Riviera, the second half of the BAFTA-winning season 2 of The End of the F**Ing World* for Netflix, and most recently, the Golden Globe nominees Ted Lasso and Fellow Travellers.

About the Composer

Matthew Bellamy is the singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the band Muse. The band has released nine studio albums, selling over 30 million albums worldwide. Widely recognized as one of the best live bands in the world, Muse has won numerous music awards, including two Grammys, an American Music Award, five MTV Europe Music Awards, two Brit Awards, eleven NME Awards, and seven Q Awards, amongst others.
In addition to his work with Muse, Matt’s composer/performer work includes “Pray (High Valyrian)” for the Game of Thrones compilation album For the Throne, the opening title for the movie World War Z, and the end title for The International.

About the Composer

Ilan Eshkeri is one of the most diverse and innovative composers in Britain today. His music traverses various genres and mediums with a focus on emotional narrative.
Eshkeri is known for films such as Layer Cake, Stardust, The Young Victoria, and *Still Alice, his innovative work with actor/director Ralph Fiennes, and his music for David Attenborough documentaries. He has also worked with artists such as Coldplay, KT Tunstall, Take That, Annie Lennox, and David Gilmour.
On stage, Eshkeri has created ballets, fashion shows, and concerts. His most recent show is with NASA and ESA: Space Station Earth, a synth-pop orchestral and visual experience which takes the audience on the extraordinary emotional journey of an astronaut.
Eshkeri is dyslexic and synaesthetic; colors, music, and patterns merge in his mind, allowing him to imagine unconventional methods of approaching music, which gives rise to his distinct, innovative style blended with a profound emotional connection to human stories and leaves an indelible mark on the world of music.

Andrew Garfield

as Winston

Cynthia Erivo

as Julia

Andrew Scott

as O'Brien

Tom Hardy

as Big Brother

Editorial Review

The best story you’ve never heard
Orwell’s 1984 is part of my sci-fi fan origin story—and it remains one of my favorite books to this day. My colleagues can attest to my insufferable anticipation for this new Audible Original adaptation. I’m double-plus thrilled to report that the end result surpassed all of my highest expectations. The talent involved is almost an embarrassment of riches: with lead roles by Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and Tom Hardy, and music composition by Matt Bellamy of Muse (all mixed in Dolby Atmos spatial audio). I could scarcely stop listening: entranced by the performance as if hearing this story for the first time. It manages to be faithful to Orwell’s original novel and yet entirely reinvigorating. Hands-down, one of my favorite listens I’ve heard in my tenure here as an editor. —Sam D., Audible Editor

What listeners say about George Orwell’s 1984

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Profile Image for Brandon

Couldn’t stop!

Can’t wait to listen to it again! It’s a good to hear stories like this.

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Profile Image for kashi

A masterpiece

This audiobook was absolutely awesome. You are quickly hooked, the music and sounds are awesome and the speakers are great. That was an insane experience.

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Profile Image for Bethany

andrew garfield stuns yet again

i don’t even have the words to describe how impressed i am with this and i will be listening again

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Profile Image for Jessica T.

Amazing Dramatization

Wow, I'm speechless. This dramatization was amazing - I really felt like I was listening to a movie with the music, and sound effects. I've never actually read 1984 before, so this is my introduction to the story, and I'm glad I picked this as my medium, as it felt less intimidating.

Not only was the narration top notch, the music and sound effects really elicited a feeling of eeriness and uneasiness. 11/10 recommend this.

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Profile Image for Ian Van Oosterhout

Epic.

I need more audiobooks like this in my life. Epic cast, epic scoring, classic story adapted in an absolutely engaging way.

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Profile Image for Ben Peltz

A good rendition of the story

I've read lots of utopian and dystopian fiction, including 1984 a few times. As with much of the genre, it's the world building that's most interesting - the characters and plot are mostly there to facilitate that. That being said, I thought this audio drama did a good job of conveying the core aspects of the world while actually making the characters a bit more interesting. I particularly appreciated the choice to add lines of descriptive dialogue instead of relying too much on a voice over narrator. If I had the option I would take back half a star for the choice of Andrew Garfield as Winston. As others have noted, he sounds young and emotional, which works well for an audio drama but is an odd fit for the bureaucratic, middle-aged, brooding Winston. Perhaps I find it easier than others to get past this kind of discrepancy, however, because I didn't find it detracted at all from my enjoyment of this rendition of the classic novel.

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Profile Image for FlyingCanuck

Yhe incredible performances by the actors, brought the characters and emotions to life in a deeply immersive way.

I can't stop thinking about how incredible it was. This isn't just an audiobook—it's a full-blown dramatic experience that completely pulled me in.

The actors in this production are absolutely fantastic. Their performances brought so much life and depth to the characters. I could feel the emotion and tension in every scene, which made the story much more engaging. It was like watching a top-notch film, but through sound alone.

Audible really knocked it out of the park with this one. The sound effects, music, and overall audio quality added layers to the story that I didn't expect. It's clear they put a lot of effort into making this a truly immersive experience.

For someone like me, who has always struggled with traditional reading, this kind of dramatic storytelling is a game-changer. I find it hard to stay focused on long texts, but this adaptation made "1984" accessible and enjoyable in a way that reading the book never did. I could fully understand and appreciate Orwell's world without feeling overwhelmed.

I hope Audible keeps making more adaptations like this. This format makes classic literature accessible to more people, especially those who find traditional reading challenging. I can't wait to see what they come up with next.

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Profile Image for Matthew R. Hill

Incredible

Andrew Garfield was absolutely amazing in this. The music really heightened the tension. It just flew by.

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Profile Image for Beatrice B

Brilliant and scary how relevant it still is today

The cast is incredible and the score creates a disturbing sense of tension that I find personally adds to the experience. I love the book. So i am very partial to the story. But I am blown away by the level of quality of the production. Very inmmersive. Can't recommend enough.

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Profile Image for Amazon Customer

Amazing for first time listeners to 1984

Always planned to listen to the original, but after 2h I wasn't sucked in, this adaptation was extremely enjoyable to listen for someone who had not finished the original. Dolby atmos was amazing when listening on headphones.

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