A rare upside to the brutal COVID pandemic in 2020 was the thought to film and release this otherwise stage-only version of Uncle Vanya. I wasn't at all familiar with Chekhov but I'm a huge fan of Toby Jones so thought I'd give it a whirl when the BBC put it on at Christmas - it was strange at first to see "a performance" filmed and felt like a throwback to 1970s television, slightly awkward, slightly staged. You get into it though and it adds a wild spontaneity to the more tense moments. The 1800s Russian play is obviously not at the height of cultural relevance but there are some startlingly existential beats here that feel timeless - not least the doctor's ideas of deforestation - but more perhaps the concept of the characters "carrying on regardless" like the actors have through plague, through political turmoil, onward and onward. The melancholy of their helplessness, trapped in situations not of their making is striking. "We shall patiently bear the trials that fate imposes on us".
22 Reviews
My first encounter with Chekhov
tammyahansen3 June 2021
I am so pleased that this was filmed and shown in the US. While it is always my preference to be in the room for live theatre, there is no way I would have gotten to see this even if there hadn't been a global pandemic. I can't speak to whether it was a typical performance of Chekhov, but I very much enjoyed the acting (no surprise that Richard Armitage and Toby Jones were excellent and I learned a few new names to watch for).
A Very British Chekhov
jromanbaker30 December 2020
Glad though I am to see this production, cut short this year by the pandemic, I was disappointed. It saddens me thinking of all London theatres still closed, and actors struggling but I cannot pretend to like a production because of the emotional pain it is causing people who love to see live theatre. My main quarrel with this version of the play is that there is nothing Russian about it. I do not mean having a Samovar on stage but something deeper. The British are often heavy with Chekhov, and this production for me falls into this trap. The actors do their best and if I have to pick out two who I thought achieved something of the ' feel ' of the environment it is supposed to take place in I was impressed by Richard Armitage and Anna Calder-Marshall. Their first scene together was tremendous, light and dark in their dialogue and in their gestures. After that I thought it slowly became more static, various different accents clashing which would not have been the case in the province in which these characters are trapped. I found the use of swear words irritating and added nothing to Chekhov's text. Of course in these past years we seem to think audiences need them. Also monologues said facing the camera and looking at us. Painful and too attention grabbing, when these are musings and almost private, and to be overheard and not stared at in the face. The third act sounded shouty and I switched off mentally. Where is the tragic farce in all this and the sad humour ? Chekhov is not Ibsen, but mood and vast spaces, not a claustrophobic ' Huis Clos '. I also do not think Toby Jones was right for the role, but that is perhaps unfair. The shooting scene was not as farcically dreadful as it should have been. Many will disagree with this, but it is certainly not for me the 5 star production many think it is. It should have been fiercely painful, and horror in the madness that farce can be. Toby Jones lowering his trousers at one point did not make up for the light touch sorely missed by this viewer. And the set and the clothes were an appalling mess and without any real sense of period or location. Chekhov's endings are perhaps the greatest ever written for the stage, and yes as always I was moved. Unity of vision at the end was achieved, and Aimee Woods gave a superlative final monologue, and was a cry of hope relevant today as it was in Chekhov's time.
Wonderful, just wonderful.
mlcorrad22 January 2022
Striking setting, acting as good as anything I've seen. Up to now I've seen Toby Jones mostly in humorous roles; now I understand why he commands such respect as an actor. (I was surprised that he managed to get in a word I've never seen in Chekhov.)
It is "Uncle Vanya" after all and Checkov
snickers23324 January 2022
But it is the first one I could not stop watching, since it was on PBS Great Performances I had time to look up the play, inject a little understanding into why it is still around and companies keep producing it, who the actors were otherwise if I had been in the theater I may not have stayed awake until the end; I often hate to see the ends of things for some reason. The actors were great and for the first time I understood what was going on; honestly there was not a character I could not feel empathy for; these lives we live. I heartily recommend you turn it on, put on 'closed captioning if you need to and listen to their story and their lives; ahh, aching for somebody who gives you nothing back...we humans.
Uncle Vanya
Prismark1028 March 2021
Well I nearly fell of my 4x4. This film version of the stage play Uncle Vanya was rather good.
It starts off slowly and like a lot of Chekhov plays, there are people talking about their existence in rural Russia.
It heats up when Professor Serebryakov (Roger Allam) decides he wants to sell the estate even though it actually belongs to his daughter from his first marriage.
This incident causes Vanya (Toby Jones) to explode with rage.
Allam makes Serebryakov an aloof selfish know it all. I wonder if he realised how close he was to lose his much younger second wife Yelena (Rosalind Eleazar) to the visiting Doctor Astrov (Richard Armitage.)
Good performances from Aimee Lou Wood. She plays young Sonya who with Uncle Vanya toils the estate so her father can have good standard of living in the city. She also has the hots for Dotoe Astrov but he prefers Sonya's stepmother.
Toby Jones comes to his own when he rages about his existence and what could had been in the later acts. With a brother in law like Professor Serebryakov. No wonder Vanya wanted to end it all.
It starts off slowly and like a lot of Chekhov plays, there are people talking about their existence in rural Russia.
It heats up when Professor Serebryakov (Roger Allam) decides he wants to sell the estate even though it actually belongs to his daughter from his first marriage.
This incident causes Vanya (Toby Jones) to explode with rage.
Allam makes Serebryakov an aloof selfish know it all. I wonder if he realised how close he was to lose his much younger second wife Yelena (Rosalind Eleazar) to the visiting Doctor Astrov (Richard Armitage.)
Good performances from Aimee Lou Wood. She plays young Sonya who with Uncle Vanya toils the estate so her father can have good standard of living in the city. She also has the hots for Dotoe Astrov but he prefers Sonya's stepmother.
Toby Jones comes to his own when he rages about his existence and what could had been in the later acts. With a brother in law like Professor Serebryakov. No wonder Vanya wanted to end it all.
Outstanding performance, and a great stage production
jackassborn7 February 2022
The most beautiful Uncle Vanya I've seen in my life, with state-of-the-art performances by all the entire cast of Harold Pinter Theatre, all simply amazing, especially the great actress, and so adorable, Aimee Lou Wood as Sonya, and the great Toby Jones as Vanya.
Well acted, but disappointing ending
mgumsley3 November 2020
I am not familiar with Chekhov's work so this review is written from an unbiased perspective. Uncle Vanya had a strangely autobiographical feel to it, and the three main characters, were all strong male leads, with Uncle Vanya as the one male in the group with the strongest grievances. I think it is a play that might have benefitted from a stronger conclusion, it all felt flat at the end. When it comes to classics, no one does it quite like the BBC. You end up liking their version more than the original work.
Having said that, it was beautifully acted and directed, with Toby edging it slightly in the acting stakes.
I'm ready to cry 'Uncle'
writers_reign10 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
You have to work at it to screw Checkhov and though Conor McPherson does his best the actors remain loyal to Checkhov and the David Mamet adaptation coupled with Louis Malle's direction is still the movie version to beat. Although the smart money says The Cherry Orchard is Checkov's piece de resistance I have always had a soft spot for Vanya and this new version weighing in at two and a half hours does nothing to make me change my mind. Filming live performances in a theatre has come a long way since Richard Burton's Hamlet and this is a triumph of the genre.
Brilliant, thank you
t-r-pengelly27 October 2020
Turgid and dated but well acted
namstonk30 December 2020
Critics, luvvies and darlings TV, to the average man it's just noise and ironic waffle. To think this was ever considered a masterpiece and the people who claim to its brilliance are the Holland Park wives who drive around in their 4x4's.
Wonderful Interpretation and Performances
martinkimber30 October 2020
I had hoped to see this on stage in April, but Covid blocked it. So grateful to the actors and production team for putting this very special movie together. I urge everyone to support this beautifully staged, acted and filmed piece, it has a real sense of intimacy and engagement .. and dare I say probably better than seeing it from row H of the theatre, stalls OR circle
Shattering
TheLittleSongbird29 January 2023
'Uncle Vanya' is one of Anton Chekhov's best known plays, and also one of his finest. It is wordy and the characters are not people's definition of likeable (which is true of Chekhov in general on both counts), but it is like 'The Cherry Orchard' and 'Three Sisters' in being a masterpiece of mood and compellingly real characterisation. As well as balancing satire and tragedy brilliantly. Have loved many of the National Theatre Live productions and the cast is a truly great one.
For me, this 2020 production was a truly miraculous performance of 'Uncle Vanya'. Not just the best production of the play seen by me, but also one of the best productions of Chekhov in general. With it being one of the few to be completely true in spirit and his true intentions and nail the balance of satire and tragedy, even when not in the original setting. It is emotionally shattering, very thought provoking, funny in the right places and the acting couldn't be better. Absolutely a must.
It's hard knowing when to begin with the praise, but a good place to start would be the acting. Can't fault it. Have personally never seen a better or more powerful portrayal of the title role than that of Toby Jones, have never seen him so movingly tortured and proves that he can do very dramatic roles as well as character roles. Richard Armitage is ardent and sears in passionate intensity in the right places, while Roger Allam can do no wrong and doesn't disappoint. Rosalind Eleazar plays Yelena with poignancy and dignity, while Aimee Lou Wood is endearing and doesn't overdo any goofiness. The chemistry between the whole cast has the right amount of complex emotions.
Cannot fault the staging and the interpretation of the play. The staging is very intelligent and never falls into gratuitous distaste or touches that don't make sense, the drama is coherent and genuinely moves and chills while the characters feel real and the approach not too conventional or safe. One can never tell that the production was troubled by the pandemic and the circumstances perhaps enhanced the increasingly intense and tortured struggles of the characters.
What also makes this production of 'Uncle Vanya' so special is its extremely rare nailing both the comedy and tragedy. In Chekhov, there is one extreme of a production succeeding in the comedic elements while at times not delving enough into the drama and there is the other extreme where the bleak, melancholic tragedy is nailed but the comedy is almost nowhere in sight. Both the comedy and tragedy are in sight here, and not only is the satirical comedy genuinely sharp and funny and not overplayed and the dramatic and tragic elements incredibly moving and intense but the balance is spot on in a way that has rarely been done in Chekhov. The ending is shattering as ought.
Even when not in the original setting, the time period of the production is discernible and doesn't jar at all with the text (something that has been a danger with some productions of Shakespeare seen over the past few years). It also looks appealing on the eyes while being very atmospheric and feeling fresh. Chekhov's text is as powerful as can be.
Summarising, a miracle and how 'Uncle Vanya' and Chekhov should be done. 10/10.
For me, this 2020 production was a truly miraculous performance of 'Uncle Vanya'. Not just the best production of the play seen by me, but also one of the best productions of Chekhov in general. With it being one of the few to be completely true in spirit and his true intentions and nail the balance of satire and tragedy, even when not in the original setting. It is emotionally shattering, very thought provoking, funny in the right places and the acting couldn't be better. Absolutely a must.
It's hard knowing when to begin with the praise, but a good place to start would be the acting. Can't fault it. Have personally never seen a better or more powerful portrayal of the title role than that of Toby Jones, have never seen him so movingly tortured and proves that he can do very dramatic roles as well as character roles. Richard Armitage is ardent and sears in passionate intensity in the right places, while Roger Allam can do no wrong and doesn't disappoint. Rosalind Eleazar plays Yelena with poignancy and dignity, while Aimee Lou Wood is endearing and doesn't overdo any goofiness. The chemistry between the whole cast has the right amount of complex emotions.
Cannot fault the staging and the interpretation of the play. The staging is very intelligent and never falls into gratuitous distaste or touches that don't make sense, the drama is coherent and genuinely moves and chills while the characters feel real and the approach not too conventional or safe. One can never tell that the production was troubled by the pandemic and the circumstances perhaps enhanced the increasingly intense and tortured struggles of the characters.
What also makes this production of 'Uncle Vanya' so special is its extremely rare nailing both the comedy and tragedy. In Chekhov, there is one extreme of a production succeeding in the comedic elements while at times not delving enough into the drama and there is the other extreme where the bleak, melancholic tragedy is nailed but the comedy is almost nowhere in sight. Both the comedy and tragedy are in sight here, and not only is the satirical comedy genuinely sharp and funny and not overplayed and the dramatic and tragic elements incredibly moving and intense but the balance is spot on in a way that has rarely been done in Chekhov. The ending is shattering as ought.
Even when not in the original setting, the time period of the production is discernible and doesn't jar at all with the text (something that has been a danger with some productions of Shakespeare seen over the past few years). It also looks appealing on the eyes while being very atmospheric and feeling fresh. Chekhov's text is as powerful as can be.
Summarising, a miracle and how 'Uncle Vanya' and Chekhov should be done. 10/10.
I found by chance
charlie-7804030 December 2020
Felt like I was there!
kygreylady4 January 2021
I watched in the US thanks to a facebook friend posting a link. I was totally surprised at how very well done it was. I would buy a dvd as I think it will go on to be a classic. I hope it gets distributed and shown in the US, as I would love to see it in a movie theater. I actually have read several Chekov stories, so he is not new to me, but Uncle Vanya was! Well done folks! We can count on the Brits for excellent programming.
Lovely adaptation and performances
julie-8212 May 2021
This adaptation of Chekhov is definitely different (from the ones I've seen on stage) and yes, it seems less Russian and more British, but all the characters are vivid and sharp, understandable if not necessarily sympathetic, and Chekhov's message about provincial lives lived in quiet desperation, with Vanya and Sonya and Astrov especially trying to figure out the meaning of life, is poignant and heartbreaking. I thought the set was beautiful and the acting was terrific, especially from Toby Jones as Uncle Vanya, but really across the board. I also really enjoyed seeing a Yelena who seemed like a real person, with desires and dreams of her own, just as miserable as anyone else, and not the shallow, pretty doll that she usually is. The performance also seemed to take on deeper meaning against the backdrop of the pandemic, while we were all bored, like the characters, and wondering about the meaning of life, like the characters. Chekhov never goes out of style.
9/10
random-707785 October 2021
This performance and production is absolutely insane.
yusufpiskin8 October 2023
A 2020 British adaptation of Anton Chekhov's play of the same name.
Ian Rickson's production of Dyadya Vanya was cut short due to quarantine in the final weeks of its run.
The play was hugely popular at the time and this was truly unfortunate for both the production and the audience.
He then collaborated with director Ross MacGibbon to not only recreate the original play, but also reinterpret it in a dazzling way.
This version is not stage-to-home like other National Theater Live events.
The entire theater play has been recreated.
At the beginning of the adaptation of Chekhov's 1899 play, the director makes us watch all the actors come to the location with their masks and change their costumes/personas.
Our venue is the Harold Pinter Theatre, which production designer Rae Smith has crafted so successfully that she can teleport us from 2019 London to 1890s Russia in a split second.
Rae Smith, who also prepared the costume design herself, even managed to portray autumn in Russia in the nineteenth century with the artificial light shining through the glass.
Richard Armitage as Astrov Anna Calder-Marshall reprises her role as Nana.
But of course all eyes are looking for Toby Jones.
In the morning of that night, TJ fascinates with his character Vanya, who has a personality somewhere between the now-recovered Ebenezer Scrooge and the grumpy Truman Capote, from the moment he gets up from the couch until the curtain darkens.
When it comes to theatre, Anglo-Saxons are the best people in the world.
As someone who has read this play many times, watched it on Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and State stages, performed it at the German High School when I was a student, and watched 5 TV and Cinema versions, this is an adaptation that erases all these performances from my mind.
Ian Rickson's production of Dyadya Vanya was cut short due to quarantine in the final weeks of its run.
The play was hugely popular at the time and this was truly unfortunate for both the production and the audience.
He then collaborated with director Ross MacGibbon to not only recreate the original play, but also reinterpret it in a dazzling way.
This version is not stage-to-home like other National Theater Live events.
The entire theater play has been recreated.
At the beginning of the adaptation of Chekhov's 1899 play, the director makes us watch all the actors come to the location with their masks and change their costumes/personas.
Our venue is the Harold Pinter Theatre, which production designer Rae Smith has crafted so successfully that she can teleport us from 2019 London to 1890s Russia in a split second.
Rae Smith, who also prepared the costume design herself, even managed to portray autumn in Russia in the nineteenth century with the artificial light shining through the glass.
Richard Armitage as Astrov Anna Calder-Marshall reprises her role as Nana.
But of course all eyes are looking for Toby Jones.
In the morning of that night, TJ fascinates with his character Vanya, who has a personality somewhere between the now-recovered Ebenezer Scrooge and the grumpy Truman Capote, from the moment he gets up from the couch until the curtain darkens.
When it comes to theatre, Anglo-Saxons are the best people in the world.
As someone who has read this play many times, watched it on Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and State stages, performed it at the German High School when I was a student, and watched 5 TV and Cinema versions, this is an adaptation that erases all these performances from my mind.
provocative . and little more
Kirpianuscus30 September 2023
The first temptation is to define it as provocative.
For Toby Jones as Vanya. For Rosalind Eleazar as Elena. But its virtue is more significant. It can be defined as fresh rediscover of a great play. Or as wise exploration of familiar moments in new light. Or as one of honest trip across the states of characters in the manner who only on stage can be beautiful developed.
Or as useful remind of the coldness of lockdown and the virtues of theater in difficult times.
The monologue of Sonya sounds maybe different by what you so well know, in this new context.
But the great good point is, obvious the rich, generous and precise work of admirable Toby Jones .
For Toby Jones as Vanya. For Rosalind Eleazar as Elena. But its virtue is more significant. It can be defined as fresh rediscover of a great play. Or as wise exploration of familiar moments in new light. Or as one of honest trip across the states of characters in the manner who only on stage can be beautiful developed.
Or as useful remind of the coldness of lockdown and the virtues of theater in difficult times.
The monologue of Sonya sounds maybe different by what you so well know, in this new context.
But the great good point is, obvious the rich, generous and precise work of admirable Toby Jones .
Boring - doesn't connect to today
billsoccer16 August 2021
Not familiar with Chekov and unlike those above who are, I couldn't care less what setting/culture this was set in. But I can see why he was one of Russias favorite sons - it seems all the characters whine about their lives continually. Might have once thrilled Russian peasants (or at least spoke to them), who wants to hear this nowadays?
Another worst film! Too long, and full of annoying overuse scene! Bored to freaking death!
kwenchow13 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This film start with an old woman "Nana" kissing the photo frame, and she talking with a doctor "Astrov" scene! As turnout, this film is about a series of family drama surrounding Uncle Vanya! Entire film full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Such as, overuse of the arguing scene, overuse of the calling names scene, overuse of the blackout scene, overuse of the playing music instrument scene, overuse of the sewing scene, overuse of the talking to the audience scene, overuse of the walking scene, overuse of the drinking scene, overuse of the kissing scene, overuse of the singing scene, overuse of the eating scene, and overuse of the closing door scene! Make the film unwatchable! Barely laughable scene is, Vanya miscounted the years! At the end, Serebrayakov, Yelena, and Astrov leaving Uncle Vanya! That's it! Wasting time to watch!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
