1984 was not a leap into the future-but a look at the dangers already present-in Orwell's lifetime. The Road to 1984 intertwines vision and reality. It displays the passion and chronicles the career of Orwell--who warned us of what could happen if we stayed on that road--his road to 1948 and ours to 1984.

Christmas is coming to Ten Acre Field and Worzel Gummidge (Jon Pertwee) is determined to enjoy it in style. He goes searching for Aunt Sally (Una Stubbs), hoping to invite her to the Scarecrow Ball, but before he can find her he runs into his old friend Saucy Nancy (Barbara Windsor), herself heading for a spell in panto. Then, before he gets much further, our multi-headed hero gets sidetracked again when he runs into angry Scots scarecrow Bogle McNeep (Billy Connolly) and his anti-Christmas brigade. Will Worzel ever get to enjoy the season with his beloved?

Three sailors on leave turn a British town upside down.

The curtain opens on Domenico Soriano, 50, a wealthy Neapolitan shop-keeper who is raging against Filumena, 48, a former prostitute. They lived together for 26 years as husband and wife and she has cheated him, pretending to be near to death, and convincing him to marry her in extremis. Domenico, however, would rather marry Diana, a young girl, who is already in the house pretending to be a nurse. Filumena reveals the real reason for the marriage to Domenico: she wants to create a family for her three children (Umberto, Michele and Riccardo) who have no idea of who their mother really is. Domenico is not going to allow this and asks his lawyer, Nocella, to annul the marriage. Filumena speaks to the young men telling them that she is their mother. Filumena accepts the defeat of the annulment, but tells Domenico that one of the three children is actually his. All attempts to find out who his son is fails, and Domenico, after 10 months remarries Filumena accepting to be the father of all three. In the play Filumena memorably tells Domenico that "Children are children, and they're all equal" (I figli sono figli e sono tutti uguali).