Uncle Vanya

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.

A rare upside to the brutal COVID pandemic in 2020 was the thought to film and release this otherwise stage-only version of Uncle Vanya. I wasn't at all familiar with Chekhov but I'm a huge fan of Toby Jones so thought I'd give it a whirl when the BBC put it on at Christmas - it was strange at first to see "a performance" filmed and felt like a throwback to 1970s television, slightly awkward, slightly staged. You get into it though and it adds a wild spontaneity to the more tense moments. The 1800s Russian play is obviously not at the height of cultural relevance but there are some startlingly existential beats here that feel timeless - not least the doctor's ideas of deforestation - but more perhaps the concept of the characters "carrying on regardless" like the actors have through plague, through political turmoil, onward and onward. The melancholy of their helplessness, trapped in situations not of their making is striking. "We shall patiently bear the trials that fate imposes on us".

This is certainly one of the best renditions of Vanya you can find streaming. The performances and directing are just outstanding.

The most beautiful Uncle Vanya I've seen in my life, with state-of-the-art performances by all the entire cast of Harold Pinter Theatre, all simply amazing, especially the great actress, and so adorable, Aimee Lou Wood as Sonya, and the great Toby Jones as Vanya.

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.)