This play by Chekhov evokes a mood of listless claustrophobia in the winter countryside. Hampstead staged a version written and directed by Terry Johnson that seemed to spare no expense in terms of the set, complete with trees and period furniture. The part of Vanya was played by Alan Cox who conveyed well Vanya's frustrations with Prof Serebryakov - his brother in law by marriage to Vanya's deceased sister. Also noteable was Alice Bailey Johnson who played Sonya the Professor's daughter who has been left marooned in the country estate and looking for a mate. The Professor's beautiful new and younger wife was cast perfectly looks-wise in Abbey Lee. To start with, she seemed to me a bit expressionless but perhaps this rather detached rendition suited the part - a young woman in a rather contrived marriage to a man old both physically and psychologically.
All in all, I thought this was a good evening but the slowness and bleakness resulted in a certain amount of fall-out at the interval. This was rather a waste, as the play required the viewer to relax into the gloom of life in the big house.
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