Uncle Vanya
The multi-award winning Red Stitch Actors Theatre presents the Australian Premiere of Uncle Vanya, by Anton Chekhov, a new version by Annie Baker.
“I’m the same as always. Actually, I’m worse. I’m lazy and I don’t do anything and I’m whiny and bitter. Like a piece of horseradish.”
The countryside. Lust, boredom and life. In this fresh translation of her favourite play, Annie Baker employs her famed attention to detail and understanding of the idiosyncrasies of human behaviour to breathe new life into the characters’ ceaseless and familiar pursuit of happiness.
★★★★★ Time Out New York
Directed by Nadia Tass
With Rosie Lockhart, Olga Makeeva, Ben Prendergast, Eva Seymour, David Whiteley, Justin Hosking, Kristof Kaczmarek & Marta Kaczmarek
Set & Costume Sophie Woodward
Lighting David Parker
Assistant Lighting Clare Springett
Composition & Sound Daniel Nixon
Production Manager Sara Grayson
Stage Manager Hannah Bullen
Assistant Stage Manager Arthur Giamalidis
Feedback/Comments
Being a native Russian speaker and having read and seen this play many times, I was somewhat disappointed by all the cliches - I was expecting a deep psychological (self)analysis of the characters - it was not delivered. The play was performed by a group of actors of various degree of talent and understanding of the plot - but IT WAS NOT AN ENSEMBLE, just a GROUP of actors. Unfortunately, all of them played in different styles, with different accents - or, rather, degrees of effort to sound Russian. I was upset to see that the public was cheering when Doctor Astrov started dancing "Gopak", as if this were the highlight of the play. Chekhov was a doctor by profession, so every one of his doctor-characters was a part of him. There were some very funny details,for example, Professor Serebryakov wearing a warm coat and a FUR HAT whilst peasants are cutting grass, i.e. in August in the Northern hemisphere? And his wife Yelena is wearing a lace dress. And so on. Of course, these details might not matter for some, but since the director took care of them, they should have been right. I did not enjoy this play. Sorry.
This was a long play, but time was merely a construct while we were mesmerised by this show. Made me want to return to the original text to see what was altered in this version. Highly recommended.
Good production. Weird range of accents, and some odd directorial choices, but I'm glad I saw it. It's great to see it interpreted as a comedy though. It drew out laughs that I'm sure Chekhov intended but which are often missed by other productions.
I think it ran for too long, not enough to keep me there. First 10min into the show I heard snoring from the row in front of me
Excellent work from skilled performers. Very accessible and enjoyable.
That was brilliant!
Some great set pieces, but I felt something was lacking, not quite sure what though...
It's Chekov so it's long but really well done.
Appreciate the hard work put in by cast crew in such a short rehearsal window. An average performance with a few comedic highlights but very slow going overall. A word of warning this show runs for almost 3 hours with an intermission so plan accordingly.
the best theatre piece I have seen in years! unmissable!
Brilliant performance with very talented cast.
Thank you.
Good cast, well done production