Simon Watt
posted 10 March 2008

Everyone is overworked or at least thinks they are. Vanya is depressed. All the older people are depressed. They feel that it is too late for them, that they have wasted their youths through selfless dedication, and that they should have seized control of their lives earlier. The young in contrast feel bound by the chains of servitude and await their rewards in heaven because they will find no relief here on earth. It is not surprising then that the dominant topic of conversation is unhappiness. Yet it is the constant humour that makes this one of the most enjoyable productions I have seen in a long time.

The acting is simply superb. From start to finish, the cast, particularly Nicholas Le Prevost as the eponymous Vanya, make the most of their characters’ sardonic wit to highlight their underlying plight. These characters feel real. They feel like old friends. We cannot help but wonder what happens to them after the curtain has fallen. Their strife is so tangible. Their conversation so at ease, yet loaded with deep emotion. But the real strength of Peter Hall’s production of Chekhov's play (translated by Stephen Mulrine) is its subtlety. It would have been easy to interpret Vanya as passive and defeated, but Le Prevost is much more refreshing with his lively and passionate resentment. His droll hatred only serves to exacerbate the dread we feel when he does sink into the mire of his depression.

Vanya’s companion and foil, Dr Astov, played deftly by Neil Pearson, uses comedy to a similar but different end. The humour punctuates his idealists rage. The forests of his home district are being slowly eroded and Astov is eaten alive by their inevitable loss. In spite of the open and airy set, this claustrophobic sense of the unavoidable pervades everything. This is a taut, hilarious masterpiece. It is touring the country so go see it while you can.

York run over - see English Touring Theatre for other dates.