UNCLE VANYA (Harold Pinter Theatre/iPlayer)****

 

By Cal 

Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000qplz/uncle-vanya 

Available until: 30^th September 2021

It’s only fair to say that if you’re familiar with Uncle Vanya, this play won’t be quite what you’re expecting.

It follows the story. It even follows the text very closely. I don’t know any of this play off by heart, but I occasionally had a look at the text to see how closely it was being followed and other than a few cuts, it seems as though they are mainly following the text. The gist of what they’re saying is the same as the gist of what’s in my translation of the play.

But Conor McPherson’s translation is a lot more modern. I don’t think it’s quite set in the present day, but most of the language (if not quite all the concepts expressed) are the kind of thing we hear every day. It’s very colloquial.

Of course, any English production of a Chekhov play is going to be a translation. The translation I have sounds like Chekhov, but I don’t actually speak Russian so I have no way of knowing what Chekhov’s actual words sound like. I trust that my translation is true to the spirit of the original and I have no problems in believing it is, but I suppose, when it comes down to it, I don’t actually know if it is or not.

I prefer the original. Other people might prefer the original too. But one thing I try to ask myself when I see a new interpretation of a play I’m not quite sure of is to ask whether it brings anything new to the play or shed any new light on it or make it in any way more accessible.

The answer to these questions are definitely yes. Chekhov’s plays are great, but they’re set in another country in the past so a lot of the conventions of the play are unfamiliar. It’s easy to feel that Chekhov’s plays are very much of their time and of their culture.

But this production, performed in various British accents and in modern language, shows that actually, it could happen in our country and our culture. The characters in Uncle Vanya are human beings, just like us. They’re a bit unusual and rather eccentric, but so are many people and I personally love a bit of eccentricity. I probably wouldn’t be engaged right now if I didn’t! Perhaps the characters lose some of their magical, literary quality when they’re speaking in modern language, but perhaps they become a bit more real.

The modern language probably does make the story more accessible to many people. If anyone is lucky enough to be studying Uncle Vanya and feels a bit daunted, this production could be a really good introduction to the play and whether you’re studying literature or drama (or both), I think this production will continue to give you new ideas about the play which you might not have thought of if you only knew one translation of the play.

And if this play helps even one person (and I’m sure it’s helped a lot more than that) to realise that Chekhov has written some incredible stories and if it’s encouraged people to seek out other translations, this production has done something really special.

Conor McPherson’s translation lacks the rhythm of Elisaveta Fen’s (and perhaps also Chekhov’s), but it captures the meaning of the text really well. Although this is a version that was created especially for the screen (the stage production closed around this time last year), it is filmed in the Harold Pinter theatre, presumably on the actual set. Ian Rickson’s production has really focused on developing the characters in ways that suit the new translation but retain the essence of the original characters and that works really well.

Toby Jones is a revelation in the title role, powerful, emotional, frighteningly out of control at times but with a certain vulnerability and charm. Roger Allam shows that Serebryakov still has life in him, despite his aches and pains. Rosalind Eleazar’s Yelena probably is rather bewitching to straight men, though she’s kind, sensible and doesn’t offer too much encouragement. Aimee Lou Wood is a sweet Sonya, gauche but good-hearted. She’s certainly not as unattractive as the text suggests, but Sonya’s awkwardness might give the impression of a lack of attractiveness to some. Peter Wight gives the play occasional sad humour as Telegin.

It wasn’t what I expected and it did take me a while to get into the style, but it’s a very interesting and relevant presentation of the story.