The new adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 that just closed its ever-so-brief run at The Cultch is nothing short of a visual feast.

The show is presented by The Virtual Stage and Studio 58, one of the country’s finest incubators of theatre practitioners. Rarely do Vancouver audiences get to experience 26 people onstage in impeccably executed sequences.

Clocking in at two and half hours, the show could afford to lose some scenes, but thanks to nuanced performances by some standouts including Andrew Wheeler, Joel Ballard and Noah Rosenbaum, the urgency and panic of the world are palpable. Then there is the design wizardry – a cumulative result of Drew Facey’s mammoth technological set, Naomi Sider’s stark costumes, Thompson and Corwin Ferguson’s haunting video designs, paired with spectacular lighting (Adrian Muir) and eerie soundscapes (Brian Linds), all but one Studio 58 grads themselves.

Though the attempts at British accents meet varied levels of success, director Ron Jenkins (Bash’d, The Trespassers, The Black Rider) serves up stage picture and continuous action like few directors can. The man has clear vision, and combined with Andy Thompson’s whip-smart adaptation, the show is sure to resurface in a more substantial run.