UNCLE VANYA. Harrogate to 16 February, then tour to 16 March.
Harrogate/Tour
UNCLE VANYA
by Anton Chekhov, translated by Michael Frayn
Harrogate Theatre To 16 February 2002, then tour
Runs 2hr 30min One interval
Neatly balancing sorrow and comedy, Harrogate's production is limited by uneven acting.No play whose title character ends an act splattered over the floor in fury at a failed murder attempt is likely to be all serious. And none whose first half culminates in two women's mutual understanding stopped in its tracks by a husband's petty selfishness is going to be entirely light-hearted. Rob Swain's production captures a range of tones in Chekhov.
Kate Stanton's attractive set, dominated by a huge moon and a setting sun in a couple of acts, Paul Sheard's atmospheric lighting and Emma Renhard's simple, yet characterful period costumes, enhance Chekhov's world.
Renhard distinguishes the enervated Vanya, in light jacket and dishevelled clothes, from his doctor friend Astrov, younger and still purposeful in more sober colours plus smart collar and tie. Then there's Yelena, elegant in fashionable French-style dresses, and plain, resourceful Sonya, in Russian peasant clothes, contrasting the Europhile and Slavic pulls in 19th century Russia.
Nicola Wainwright's fine, ever-alert Sonya is ignored by Astrov whose eyes follow Yelena even while answering Sonya's questions. At first Willetts presents the young wife caught in a misery marriage with the old pedant Serebryakov unfairly as a brain-dead bimbo; Yelena may not but smart, but neither is she Posh.
Later we see the life trapped in her. Sonya's the intellectual, eagerly repeating her beloved Astrov's ecological theories and comforting Vanya with a vision of peace to come; Yelena's the one with insight into how people tick, and an ability to manage them.
Paul Mooney captures Vanya's frustration, his desire for Yelena expressed in the roses he brings, only to find her deep-clinched with Astrov. As the flowers sink to the couch, then the ground, till finally, as Vanya's whole world seems falling apart, he smashes them into fragments, a murder attempt seems the next natural step in his rage.
Niall Refoy's Astrov has strong moments but flat ones too. Generally the production finds little time to explore characters' depths. This especially shows when Frayn's translation throws up repeated words or phrases – rarely do the characters make sense of the repetitions, though Richard Hague gives the hapless Telegin an unusual pathos.
Maria: Jessica Barnes
Marina: Pamela Buchner
Serebryakov: John Cunningham
Telegin: Richard Hague
Vanya: Paul Mooney
Astrov: Niall Refoy
Sonya: Nicola Wainwright
Yelena: Shelly Willetts
Director: Rob Swain
Designer: Kate Stanton
Lighting: Paul Sheard
Costume: Emma Renhard
2002-02-05 16:49:21