Uncle Vanya

January 15, 2020. Harold Pinter Theatre

Starting the year with Chekov. The Russians still aren’t my favourites as they languish in their misery and despair.

No one is happy. No one has an easy life. Everyone is struggling with a lost love, or a lost life, or lost dreams and hopes.

Park all of that cos you know that’s coming. It’s Chekov. Do that and this has a lot to commend it.

I adore Toby Jones and here he perfectly portrays the anguish of Vanya, a man who’s spent his whole life running an estate that he doesn’t benefit from and never will because a quirk of fate and his desire to support his sister. He falls in love with his brother-in-law’s second wife Yelena. He hasn’t the wherewithal to pull himself out of his situation and laments tragically that he has another 13 years of this until he can hope to die.

Richard Armitage is wonderful as the doctor (there’s always a Doc in Chekov) here part eco-warrior part unrequited lover. He too falls in love with Yelena; like Vanya and, in doing so abandons his environmental work to drink and wallow in this infatuation.

Aimee Lou Wood is super as Sonya, spurned by the Doctor who’s she’s loved for 6 years and seemingly fated to continue her life like her Uncle Vanya in ennui.

It’s absolutely beautiful to watch like a beautiful 19th century painting and the lighting is exquisite.

It felt a little flat though. It’s classy and classic but lacks the edge of Cyrano just down the road and I’m spoiled.

It also wasn’t helped that a man-mountain sat in front of me and obscured half the stage. Annoying in the extreme.

4/5 Worth seeing for Jones and Armitage alone. Just remember it’s Chekov.