Uncle Vanya with Toby Jones

[peggs]

Got a todaystix for this yesterday, it shows as sold out pretty immediately but then some tickets appeared about 45 mins later so worth checking. Gave me J row seat which was good though surrounded by irritation.
Haven't processed what I thought yet and was distracted by annoying people and need to re read thread.

[kathryn]

Restricted view back of stalls for £25 on TodayTix - worth it?
Some £15 restricted views available mid-week too, though I’d guess Rush would be better for the same price.

[peggs]

Have just written up my notes on this for my own record and appears I really rather enjoyed this. Toby Jones seems born to play Vanya, so rumpled and grumpy and quick and oh when the real despair hits. Adored Anna Calder-Marshall, not lots of line but always worth keeping an eye on. Peter Wight for ever being missed in the rounds of goodbyes. Rosalind Eleazar's beautiful beguiling but inert Yelana. And poor Sonya, poor trying to hold things together Sonya.

Lovely set with the intruding plant life and sagging bookshelves, have yet to go back through the thread to understand people's thoughts on those doors.

I think this play is uncomfortable for me, makes me look at my own life decisions too much when i'd rather not. It's so clever for a play where so little happens, the examination of all these trapped people.

[peggs]

Steve just read your review which is great and your interpretation of Richard Armitage's Astrov just made it click for me, I couldn't quite work out if I thought it worked, his enthusiasm for the environment palpable but did it all hang together and your analysis has just made me realise it really did work so thanks.

[Forrest]

I keep meaning to write about how much I've loved this, but can't seem to find the words...

I fell in love with Toby Jones' disillusioned, naive Vanya, a misfit wearing his heart on his sleeve and using his brash humour as a shield. On the other hand, Astrov's self-centered attention-seeking romanticism, environmentalism and martyrdom drove me mad (Richard Armitage was excellent, though). And I felt such admiration for Sonja's quiet determination to keep them all afloat, despite feeling invisible, maybe because she was the character with whom I felt I had most in common (as an ordinary girl always dreaming of something, and someone, extraordinary).

If it wasn't for West End's absurd prices, I would definitely go see it again, I thought it was simply magical. 
(That gorgeous set helped, too.)

[Deleted]

I swore off Chekhov but a colleague saw this recently and raved about the comedy in it, so I’m thinking of risking it... Looks like F1 and F11 in the dress circle can be had for a reasonable price - I think I can put up with the pillars in view. But I saw on theatremonkey it said the seats are in an alcove. Are F1 and F11 definitely on the aisle though? (Sometimes with alcoves, the end of row seats are actually against a wall and bizarrely you need to sit in the middle of the row if, like me, you’re claustrophobic and need an escape route...)

[jek]

There was just a really nice interview on the BBC News Channel with Richard Armitage in the afternoon segment hosted by Simon McCoy. Ranged far and wide over the actor's career (e.g. North and South, Spooks on the TV, the Crucible on the stage). He was explaining that as something of a method actor (he underwent water boarding for Spooks) he went out with the Woodland Trust and planted trees in preparation for playing Astrov. He said that it was only once they started performing Vanya before an audience that they realised how well the comedy would come over. Anyway interview was on BBC News channel just after the 2.30 pm news if anyone wants to search it out.

[theatrelover123]

Middle of Row H in the stalls for £20 from Todaytix for today's matinee. Often £95 for certain dates. Definitely worth not just grabbing the front row seats first off and waiting until the next batch or batches arrive on sale. Wahooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[floorshow]

Well, this was lovely! Front row from Todaytix. Cast are delightful, set is lush and as good an adaptation as you could wish for - feisty and fun before the interval before settling back into a more traditional vibe while winding down during the second half.
It's set a very high bar for The Seagull..

[showgirl]

I saw the matinee on Wednesday, using the Todaytix offer - not day seats as I needed the certainty of date/time/seat location. Quite remarkable that anything should draw me back to any play by Chekhov this soon, let alone this particular play as my sister and I are still trying to forget the turgid travesty that was Alan Ayckbourn's version, Dear Uncle, the first act of which we saw at the Theatre By The Lake in Keswick in September - so less than 6 months ago.

We had planned a whole day out round it including sighhtseeing en route and dinner in the theatre restaurant beforehand and though I booked before the production opened, I saw some good reviews. It was however one of the worst things I had ever seen and we left at the interval. I know Chekhov's characters complain of ennui, lack of purpose, missed opportunities, unrequited love and their general depression and lack of will to live, but if they evoke those feelings in the audience, it can be unbearably grim.

So I had sworn off Chekhov in general and Uncle Vanya in particular for the foreseeable, but the rave reviews and enthusiastic comments here lured me back. It was indeed the funniest version I had ever seen, largely due to Toby Jones, though I think his interpretation was possibly a bit too quirky. Nevertheless it was what lifted the play for me and made it, if still not exactly enjoyable, then worth seeing to redeem the work in my eyes. I'd never heard of Richard Armitage and again, wasn't entirely convinced by him as a doctor but can see why others would disagree and like him.

So overall I had the experience I was hoping for and my doubts were proven unjustified, but having sat through 2 h 40 of characters bemoaning the usual Chekhovian woes and emerging to a wet February day in overcrowded central London, I felt rather downcast myself.

[edi]

Chekhov is not a playwright I would go to see normally, I had it out of my system when it was compulsory at secondary school. All I remember is that nothing much happens in his plays and even that happens slowly. However the feedback from this forum and my partner's willingness to see Toby Jones made me get a cheap day seat. I was completely blown by it. This is not what I remember from school! The first part especially was very funny and I suspect it was mostly due to Toby Jones's delivery. He just played it so relatably, I didn't feel for a second that it was a far away Russian countryside family, it could have been any of us - well apart from the samovar and vast sitting room. We don't have so much space these days.

The set and lighting is beautiful and they created a little forest just outside of the house which was again very believable. I could almost smell the trees.

[vickyg]

I'm afraid this has solidified that Chekhov is not for me. I don't want to watch lazy people do absolutely nothing and complain that life is for suffering through. I'm glad I saw this version as, despite being ready for the noose an hour in, I could tell it was a good one. The performances were great and I'm sure made the play more palatable. I can't imagine a no laughs version...

I agree that the set and lighting are beautiful and I also believed that there was a nearby forest for the doctor to trudge through, but I also very much experienced the lack of purpose and ennui projected by the characters and that is not something I enjoy!

[learfan]

Saw this tonight. A good production of an all time great play. Toby Jones came into his own in the second half. Armitage and, Hinds very good too. Not sure about some of McPherson's additions particularly the soliloques. Sonia was at least ten years too young. Lots of people stood at the curtain, i wasnt quite that impressed.

[showgirl]

I didn't particularly notice Sonia's age though on reflection I suppose the actor was a little too young. What did jar for me was why she was the only character with a northern accent? None of the others had any discernible regional accent so it can't have been a directorial decision to emphasise the difference between the bright lights and the rural hinterland.

[popcultureboy]

Feb 28, 2020 22:41:33 GMT learfan said:

Not sure about some of McPherson's additions particularly the soliloques

Are those a McPherson addition? I remember Robert Icke had them too in his 3 and a half hour version at the Almeida a couple of years ago.

[David J]

Felt this production was good but it was the lesser of the three I've seen (the Roger Allam and Roger Icke productions being the other two)

What elevates this production is Toby Jones. A true natural actor he is. Not only funny but he is spontaneous in his acting bringing pathos to the role. Never felt rehearsed. An example of how you can elevate above the perception of Chekhov's plays being dreary and full of characters who do nothing to improve their situation.

The problem is the rest of the cast doesn't rise up to the occasion. I can't blame those that don't like Chekhov and weren't converted by this production because it plays safe and it tells when Toby Jones is off. His spontaneous acting really contrasts with the rest.

Not that the acting isn't bad. Though I feel I need a lottery card for the hand gestures Peter Wight constitutes for acting in every performance of his. From the hand on forehead 'you're giving me a headache' to the hand on mouth 'im about to make a point' gestures.

The women are the next best thing in the quieter moments. Aimee Lou Wood's yearning for Richard Armitage's attention as Sonya is touching. So is the scene between her and Rosalind Eleazar as Yelena trying to consolidate with each other. I only suggest Aimee Lou Wood slow down in her line delivery at times. I also liked Anna Calder as Nana

But the issue is best exemplified by the meeting scene in the second act. The Professor is pretty much the catalyst of the play, who is the reason the characters are in the position they are. The other times I've seen the play that scene was pretty tense. Here Cirian Hinds plays on a surface level, showing the Professor's sense of self-importance but barely working off the others. It's pretty much Toby Jones who is carrying the scene

Richard Armitage was fine as Astrov but does act out the 'woe is me' moments he has, shouting out with that brooding accent of his.

The set was beautiful to look at with some lovely lighting with the candles.

A shame because I really liked Ian Hickson's Rosmersholm last year with such beautiful performances from Hayley Atwell and Tom Burke. But it does feel like he focussed more on Toby Jones than the rest of the cast.

[RedRose]

Mar 2, 2020 12:50:20 GMT David J said:

Felt this production was good but it was the lesser of the three I've seen (the Roger Allam and Roger Icke productions being the other two)

A shame because I really liked Ian Hickson's Rosmersholm last year with such beautiful performances from Hayley Atwell and Tom Burke. But it does feel like he focussed more on Toby Jones than the rest of the cast.

Really? I like this much more than the other two you mentioned as in my opinion this has the best ensemble of any Uncle Vanya productions I have ever seen - this is my sixth - although as a total production The Print Room version with Iain Glen as Vanya and William Houston as Astrov is still my favourite.  I cannot remember that much of the other two you have mentioned only that Roger Allam and Tobias Menzies were really good and Alexander Hanson as Astrov was incredibly boring.

[Jan]

Mar 2, 2020 13:43:55 GMT RedRose said:

Mar 2, 2020 12:50:20 GMT David J said:

Felt this production was good but it was the lesser of the three I've seen (the Roger Allam and Roger Icke productions being the other two)

A shame because I really liked Ian Hickson's Rosmersholm last year with such beautiful performances from Hayley Atwell and Tom Burke. But it does feel like he focussed more on Toby Jones than the rest of the cast.

Really? I like this much more than the other two you mentioned as in my opinion this has the best ensemble of any Uncle Vanya productions I have ever seen - this is my sixth - although as a total production The Print Room version with Iain Glen as Vanya and William Houston as Astrov is still my favourite.  I cannot remember that much of the other two you have mentioned only that Roger Allam and Tobias Menzies were really good and Alexander Hanson as Astrov was incredibly boring.

I saw this with a really good stalls seat from TodayTix Rush, only £20. 

I have seen 9 productions of this play, Chekhov's greatest in my view. I mostly agree with David J., Anna Calder-Marshall is really excellent, but apart from that it's a one-man show, but fortunately that one man, Toby Jones, is so good it is still a worthwhile evening. Elsewhere the casting is mostly functional but no more. Astrov is a really difficult part to cast (and play) and it just didn't work here for me, I think about the best I've seen was William Houston in that Print Room production, the worst the dread Sher in the NT McKellen one. I thought the Professor was weak too, lacking in depth and interpretation. But, I liked the version by Conor McPherson and it has a nice set and lighting and it's is a perfectly decent "traditional" production. For those already familiar with the play the Robert Icke production was really revelatory. I also recommend the film "Vanya on 42nd Street" which is an excellent version. 

[Rory]

[Deleted]

[theatrelover123]

Filmed recording of West End Uncle Vanya with Richard Armitage and Toby Jones to be released in cinemas and broadcast on BBC:

www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/filmed-recording-west-end-uncle-vanya-armitage_52337.html

[Rory]

This is obviously very welcome news. I note Roger Allam has taken on the role of Serebryakov as Ciarán Hinds was unavailable.

Just a pity that they won't be resuming performances next year.

I wonder if SFP are planning something similar for Leopoldstadt. I am still hoping that it will resume next year and that I'll still get to see it live.

[Jan]

Sept 5, 2020 12:14:04 GMT Rory said:

This is obviously very welcome news. I note Roger Allam has taken on the role of Serebryakov as Ciarán Hinds was unavailable.

Just a pity that they won't be resuming performances next year.

I wonder if SFP are planning something similar for Leopoldstadt. I am still hoping that it will resume next year and that I'll still get to see it live.

Allam is an upgrade.

[lynette]

Excellent. Leopoldstadt was going to New York so maybe they have first dibs on some kind of filmed show. I hope it does get recorded properly as it is a flawed but important production. ( ps agree Allam is an upgrade )

[Jan]

Sept 6, 2020 12:40:01 GMT lynette said:

Excellent. Leopoldstadt was going to New York so maybe they have first dibs on some kind of filmed show. I hope it does get recorded properly as it is a flawed but important production. ( ps agree Allam is an upgrade )

That part in Vanya - The Professor - is rarely done well, too often we get a two-dimensional old ogre (as in this production) when the character in the text is far more ambiguous. I remember in the Katie Mitchell production he was played as if he was just a prissy local headmaster - it was funny and insightful - I think Allam could also play him in an interesting way. I’d like to see him played as simply a successful version of Vanya himself - that fits with the way the other characters see him, and Vanya.