Uncle Vanya – Smock Alley – Review
By Frank L.

Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov adapted by Brian Friel

The stage of the main auditorium of Smock Alley Theatre is entirely covered with a red carpet. At the centre of the stage, there is a trolley on which are some glasses and a samovar. At the back of the stage lurks a piano. So the setting is simple.

There are minimal scene changes and props. Therefore the imagination of each member of the audience necessarily must fill in the visual gaps. According to the programme notes at the time the play was writtten “Chekhov’s [own] deep sense of stagnation is echoed in the eponymous Vanya who …  is disillusioned and who has lost the faith he once had in hard work”.

For several years, Vanya (Risteard Cooper), who is aged 47, and his niece Sonya (Eavan Gaffney) have worked to keep their rural family estate ticking over. Every year they have remitted money to Vanya’s brother-in-law Alexander Serebryakov (Nick Dunning). He was a professor, who as a result of the money from the estate, was able to live in a style which he considered appropriate to his station. He has elevated notions as to his own intellectual prowess. He is the father of Sonya but his wife Vera, Vanya’s sister, is long dead. He has remarried a much younger woman, Elena (Maria Oxley Boardman). Vanya has a close medical friend, Dr. Mikhail Astrov (Adam Fergus), who apart from his professional expertise is passionate about nature. He regularly visits Vanya on the estate.

Following the retirement of Serebryakov, he and Elena have come to live on the estate. Their very presence is a catalyst for the emergence of long held grievances and the creation of new passions. Alcohol plays its part. A complex intertwining of relationships is woven with the piano accompaniment by HK ni Shioradain intensifying at various moments.

The acting of the cast is more than up to the formidable task which Chekhov demands with Adam Fergus particularly convincing as Astrov. The parts of Vanya’s mother Maria (Catherine Byrne), Ilya Telegin (Morgan C. Jones) and Marina (Eleanor Methven) complemented assuredly the principals.

This production is a collaboration between Smock Alley Theatre and Cathal Cleary Theatre Company in association with One Off Productions. It is a fine collaboration. The play lasts two and a half hours with a fifteen minute interval.  The various challenges that dominate each character are masterfully depicted. It is a play for all times and that includes Christmas.