STC gives "Uncle Vanya" contemporary feel, swearing included
Hugh Bonneville in Uncle Vanya, Shakespeare Theatre Company.Photo: DJ Corey Photography
Any of Anton Chekhov's plays can make for an engaging night in the theater, but Uncle Vanya is a perennial favorite. For his latest production at Shakespeare Theatre Company, where he is artistic director, Simon Godwin has reworked this classic play--equal parts tragedy, comedy, and melodrama--in a grittier, updated coproduction with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where it played in February. The new translation by Irish playwright Conor McPherson stays close to the original in most ways, with a few unexpected twists and a lot more vulgarity.
English actor Hugh Bonneville, likely most familiar to American viewers for his starring role in Downton Abbey, works a sort of miracle with the title character, tempering Vanya's bitterness and cynicism, which can be overpowering, with drunken charm and plenty of humor. The comic timing of the whole evening, not just from Bonneville, moderated what can be a severe experience. Disheveled, unshaven, slovenly, Bonneville's Vanya is a mess, but he endears himself to his family and to the audience in other ways.
Vanya's world is thrown into chaos when Professor Serebryakov, played with wooden pomposity by Tom Nelis, moves into the country estate with his young second wife, Elena. Vanya and Serebryakov's daughter with his first wife, Sonya (a sincere and affecting Melanie Field), have faithfully run the estate for years since the death of Serebryakov's first wife, sending most of the profit to support Serebryakov's career. Now retired and seeking more money, the professor upsets the equilibrium of the place, setting all the family's accustomed routines off-kilter. Gone are Chekhov's sonic touches of the Russian countryside, like the rap of the watchman's rattle, the tinkle of sleigh bells, and the sung and strummed folk songs, but a subtle background soundtrack of crickets and other rural sounds gives the impression of a rundown house in a forest somewhere.
Ito Aghayere proved the element out of place in an otherwise well-suited cast: her Elena felt too rooted in the 21st century and seemed to have no connection to Serebryakov. John Benjamin Hickey, another television actor making his STC debut, made a self-deprecating, charismatic Astrov. Two veteran actresses, STC favorite Nancy Robinette and California-based Sharon Lockwood, delighted as Nana (Marina) and Mariya, respectively. Craig Wallis, himself an STC regular, entertained as a bumbling, forgetful Telegin ("Waffles"). An understudy for two of the roles, Kina Kantor, provided moving transitions playing solo pieces on the cello, adding an intense, atmospheric touch to the evening.
Uncle Vanya runs through April 20 at Harman Hall. shakespearetheatre.org
