Between Conor McPherson’s innovative, contemporary adaptation, the first-rate acting, and Simon Godwin’s creative direction, this production of Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” is a whole new drama. It’s one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time.
“Uncle Vanya” presents a clear contrast between those family members who live and work on the family’s country estate — the lonely and loveless Vanya (great Hugh Bonneville) and his niece Sonya (empathetic Melanie Field) and the various hanger-on relatives, servants, and friends — and the grand life of the city-dwelling, haughty Professor (excellent Tom Nelis) and his sexy new young wife Yelena (understated Ito Aghayere), whose lifestyle is paid for by the country-folk’s efforts.
And although we sympathize with Vanya and the provincial estate residents, we also see their lives as part of a disturbing family dynamic and a microcosm of the more significant political and ecological situation in Czarist Russia circa 1900.
The radical, world-weary doctor Astrov (terrific John Benjamin Hickey) loves the forests and fields and advocates the environmental view that the Czarist estate system and the cities’ encroachment are ruining the area’s flora and fauna. And although the others dimly recognize the destruction, they appear unable to make any changes. Since author Anton Chekhov was a physician, we can surmise that Astrov mirrors Chekhov’s point of view.
The cast and staging are uniformly first-rate. It is a kick seeing Hugh Bonneville, “Downtown Abbey’s” suave Earl of Grantham, up close and personal on the stage of Peet’s Theatre. And the best part is that he’s fantastic in the lead role of Vanya. He commands the stage with his eyes sometimes twinkling and other times gloomy and his expressive body language in constant motion.
And the play seems to have undergone an entire rewrite by Conor McPherson. Gone is the awkward translation from Russian, the over-long phrasing and “speechifying,” and the dark patina of misery that has pervaded earlier versions of “Uncle Vanya.” Instead, there is humor throughout. “Uncle Vanya’s” language flows much more smoothly — modernized and Anglicized with some English curse words and a few literary allusions. It feels exactly right.
I went to see “Uncle Vanya,” a co-production of Berkeley Rep and Shakespeare Theatre Company of Washington, DC, not knowing what to expect. It was a wonderful evening of theater, and I unreservedly recommend it.
By Emily S. Mendel
© Emily S. Mendel 2025 All Rights Reserved emilymendel@gmail.com
