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We laughed–until we cried
Feb 05, 2020
4 minutes
Michael Billington
WATCHING Ian Rick-son’s fine new West End production of Uncle Vanya, I kept thinking how much theatre had changed in my lifetime.
I first saw Chekhov’s masterpiece at Chichester in 1962, in a legendary revival by Laurence Olivier that remains crystal clear in my memory. The difference between then and now is epitomised by the fact that there was a wasted grandeur to Michael Redgrave’s Vanya, whereas Toby Jones plays the character as a scruffy buffoon. However, the play still leaves you overwhelmed and penetrates the memory for days afterwards.
The tone of this production is set by Conor McPherson’s ‘new adaptation’. The language is more
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