Watching a play with my Uncle Vanya.

Alright! You alright?

Wednesday 11th March and into rainy old London I go. Not doing much in the day time, I could have spent some of the day preparing, reading up for what I was about to witness that night, but like the lazy person I am... I decided not to. I seem to enjoy seeing things at the Theatre I know nothing about much more than if I know where it's going, or what may happen. For me, by knowing nothing about what you're about to see, makes you drop your guard and you are completely open to any number of instances. You have to just go with it.

The cast is stellar, led by Toby Jones and Aimee Lou-Wood. Some may argue that Richard Armitage co-leads the company but the character of 'Sonya' has so much more going on that she is watchable without a fault. When the curtain rises, before the first line of play is delivered by 'Nana' we are given some time to take in the wonderful set by Rae Smith. With the Harold Pinter Theatre being not exactly huge, I do love it when a production there goes right to the back wall. I don't know why, but it is eerie to see the bare bones of the Theatre as part of a set. There isn't a weak link in the entire cast, not one. however some characters I wanted to see more into, more depth but I suppose when you're writing a play with 8 characters, some are going to suffer under the pen.

I went into the play having never seeing a Chekov play, nor had I even considered there was an on-going conversational debate about a translation forming the play. After speaking to friends who knew a great deal more than I do about this issue, specific word are different to this adaptation, written by Conor Mc Pherson, which I suppose can irritate die-hard Chekov fans, but not me. To me, this doesn't feel like a play that was written two-hundred years ago, there is no air of pretentiousness about it. It's grounded. It's rooted. It also deals with problems that we all can agree with, most notably, is 'Sonya's' deep rooted but forbidden love with 'Astrov' the Doctor. Forbidden because of her age and the place where his heart lies, is not hers. Dramatic Irony is in full effect in this play. The scenes that 'Astrov' and 'Sonya' have together are heart-breaking. I would even say I was close to tears at one point because we, as the audience, know how she feels, but he has no idea, not one jot.

Another one of my favourite scenes lies in the second act, when 'Waffles', 'Vanya' and 'Astrov' shelter from the storm, soaking in rain... and also in booze. Jones, Armitage and Wight, respectively in their characters, deliver one of the best comedic scenes around in town at the moment. Forget laugh-a-minute, this was laugh-a-line material. There's nothing more satisfying than watching three actors at the top of the games holding the audience in the palm of their hand. One character who I wanted to see more of, was Dearbhla Molloy in the role of 'Grandmaman'. Every time she appears on stage, it appears she has one goal, one mission... The family. Do what is best for the family. Sometimes, it goes against the will of the certain members of the family, and they disagree with her (Spoilers) but still, she remains truthful to what she believes is the best thing to do for the family. This is something all of us can identify with. No matter how much good we think they may be doing for our loved ones, it might always be wrong, they might resent us for it. How do we, as humans deal with being so resented when all we want is best for the loved ones around us?

To round up, go and see this play. You will laugh, cry and above all else, be taken away from the puzzled world outside the Theatre doors for an evening. Sometimes in times of division, Drama can be a way of encouraging empathy where other attempts fall flat.

'This is nothing. Our conversations always end like this.'

Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov... A new adaptation by Conor McPherson.