Uncle Vanya Starring Toby Jones and Richard Armitage

(Picture from unclevanyaplay.com)

Tickets are now on sale for the January 2020 production of Uncle Vanya, a new adaptation by Conor McPherson, directed by Ian Rickson.

The production has so far only announced the casting of Toby Jones (Uncle Vanya) and Richard Armitage (Astrov).

So I must confess something - I have no idea what it is about. Zilch. I'm a massive theatre fan but I'm mainly into musicals so I've never seen Uncle Vanya. I could look it up, but I'd rather go in completely fresh (and how often does that happen when a play is 120 years old..?). Here's the synopsis from the website (linked above)

In the heat of summer, Sonya and her Uncle Vanya (Toby Jones) while away their days on a crumbling estate deep in the countryside, visited occasionally only by the local doctor Astrov (Richard Armitage).

However, when Sonya’s father suddenly returns with his beautiful new wife declaring that he intends to sell the house, the polite facades crumble and repressed feelings start to emerge with devastating consequences.

The only thing I know about Uncle Vanya is that it was once referenced in Family Guy..:

(I promise not to do this..)

Not much is known about the nitty gritty of the play so far; the poster was released yesterday (24th September 2019) and it was announced this morning about 9 that tickets were on sale from 12..so thanks for the heads up..! I've booked to go and see it in early February, and will post a full review at the time.

Anyone who has listened to the podcast (find us at The Casual Fangirls on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast needs seen to..) knows that I am a fan of Richard Armitage. This is his first time on the London stage in six years, when he was Olivier nominated for his role as John Proctor in The Crucible. Obviously as this has just been formally announced in the last couple of days, there hasn't been much press yet but there's a very short article over on the Evening Standard website about how his mother's passing has deepened his understanding of the tragedy of Uncle Vanya.

I think this is going to be a great production, I cannot wait to see it.

Written by Caroline