West Yorkshire Playhouse Associate Director Mark Rosenblatt once more takes the helm following his successes at the venue with Of Mice and Men and Untold Stories. Here he directs Samuel Adamson’s crystal-clear adaptation of Chekhov’s classic Russian melodrama Uncle Vanya. This passionate production tells us of a host of complex characters who are in despair over their unfulfilled lives. Their personas are richly explored to the extent that we feel great empathy for them and have a keen interest in and understanding of their desires and motives.
This includes relationships where unrequited love is on display, as well as secrets that slowly unravel. Vanya and Astrov are driven to drink by their melancholia but still find no real solace there as reality re-appears upon sobriety. And both of them are chasing the beautiful and seemingly self-assured Yelena, married to an elderly professor, but despite the flowers of romance on the Playhouse’s publicity, this is no love story.
There is a very contemporary feel in both content and form, with on-stage accessories including a fridge, over-head projector and computer, and Astrov’s speech on ecological principles being well ahead of its time. And excellent use is made of the actors talking direct to audience, effective at involving us intimately in the action.
Dick Bird’s design is to die for with a dark woodland background leaving us in no doubt of the remoteness of the setting, so the screams in the household would go unheard. While David Price’s subtle soundscape further immerses us in a pastoral place. The ensemble provides us with a unified sense of dramatic excellence in their performance, but particular praise should go to David Ganly as the sadly depressed Vanya and John Bett as the self-obsessed egotist Serebryakov.
And in support there is real livewire electric connection between Dorothea Myer-Bennett as Sonya, and the charismatic doctor Astrov (Ryan Kiggell). Although the humour is pitch black like the show’s backdrop, the comedic element does carry the piece along, but more than anything the profundity of Chekhov’s writing is illuminated with loving care. We are left contemplating the characters’ sense of futility which inspires us to look upon on our own selves following such a soulful and deeply moving experience.
***** Inspirational and moving.
Until 28 March, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds
Photos: Anthony Robling
Review: Rich Jevons