UNLIMITED

Country Life

We laughed–until we cried

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

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Country Life

Country Life7 min read
Give Me Land, Lots Of Land
PEOPLE love land and, although some other estates found the sale of large houses problematic this year, at the end of the day, anything that comes wrapped in a good piece of land will eventually find a buyer.’ So said David Hebditch, head of land sal
Country Life5 min read
Plant A Winter Pantry
IT’S easy to be dazzled by summer’s colourful supply of scrambling courgettes, runner beans, tomatoes and cucumbers. You’d be far wiser, however, to develop a winter pantry of vegetables that you can use for months on end: winter crops stand still an
Country Life2 min read
Highland Base, Kerlingarfjöll, Iceland
IN the middle of Iceland, there is a man named Róbert Marshall. He is, and was, many things. He was a journalist and he was a politician. He is a rock musician, a storyteller, a long-distance runner and a ski guide. He once interviewed Nelson Mandela

Related Books & Audiobooks