Uncle Vanya

I watched this tonight with just one other person across the cinema. At the end, he rose and gave a silent standing ovation.

This is a recorded stage production of "Uncle Vanya". I think the acting is good, and the production does take me to a distant time in a rural place. The finale is captivating. I enjoyed watching it.

I am so pleased that this was filmed and shown in the US. While it is always my preference to be in the room for live theatre, there is no way I would have gotten to see this even if there hadn't been a global pandemic. I can't speak to whether it was a typical performance of Chekhov, but I very much enjoyed the acting (no surprise that Richard Armitage and Toby Jones were excellent and I learned a few new names to watch for).

Striking setting, acting as good as anything I've seen. Up to now I've seen Toby Jones mostly in humorous roles; now I understand why he commands such respect as an actor. (I was surprised that he managed to get in a word I've never seen in Chekhov.)

This adaptation of Chekhov is definitely different (from the ones I've seen on stage) and yes, it seems less Russian and more British, but all the characters are vivid and sharp, understandable if not necessarily sympathetic, and Chekhov's message about provincial lives lived in quiet desperation, with Vanya and Sonya and Astrov especially trying to figure out the meaning of life, is poignant and heartbreaking. I thought the set was beautiful and the acting was terrific, especially from Toby Jones as Uncle Vanya, but really across the board. I also really enjoyed seeing a Yelena who seemed like a real person, with desires and dreams of her own, just as miserable as anyone else, and not the shallow, pretty doll that she usually is. The performance also seemed to take on deeper meaning against the backdrop of the pandemic, while we were all bored, like the characters, and wondering about the meaning of life, like the characters. Chekhov never goes out of style.