Ellen Cheshire

My ambitious plan to rewatch everything I saw in theatres and cinemas in 1984 (on the same dates in 2024) has come to an end. The blogs...

In 1984, my love for cinema was in full swing. From animated classics to epic adventures, romantic comedies to gripping dramas, the films...

In 1984, I saw 21 live theatrical productions, from lavish West End musicals to intimate plays and even a few pantomimes. Forty years later, in 2024, I set myself a challenge: to revisit as many of those performances as possible. Read more about the whole challenege here. On the same day I had seen them in 1984! Some shows were still so popular that they were running somewhere, some had been revived, whilst others I could only find film versions, amateur productions recorded

Against All Odds (15) In 1984, at age 13 to 14, my relationship with theatre and film changed forever. It was the year I transitioned from simply attending shows with my family to venturing out on my own. I snuck into my first 15-certificate films and took my 8-year-old brother to movies meant for much younger audiences. That year, I saw 21 live performances and 30 films at the cinema wish I’d kept a track of what I watched on telly too.  Although doodles in school exercise f

In 1996, I was studying English and Film at the University of North London (now London Metropolitan University). For an English module titled H.G. Wells and Science Fiction , I wrote an essay analysing the psychological impacts of electronic surveillance in George Orwell's 1984 . Having recently watched Northern Ballet/Jonathan Watkins' dance adaptation of the novel, I decided to revisit that old essay. I dug it out from a dusty, long-abandoned computer and am sharing it here

In 1984 I saw 21 live performances & 30 films at the cinema, this year I’m recreating them all. Six months in, how am I doing? Read my...