{"id":80253,"date":"2022-09-23T22:04:16","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T02:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=80253"},"modified":"2022-09-23T22:04:16","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T02:04:16","slug":"scrutiny-crows-theatre-offers-magnificent-uncle-vanya-ages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2022\/09\/23\/scrutiny-crows-theatre-offers-magnificent-uncle-vanya-ages\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Crow\u2019s Theatre Offers A Magnificent \u2018Uncle Vanya\u2019 For The Ages"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Crow's
Crow’s Theatre ‘Uncle Vanya’ (Photo courtesy of Crow’s Theatre)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Crow\u2019s Theatre\/Uncle Vanya, written by Anton Chekhov, new adaptation by Liisa Repo-Martell, directed by Chris Abraham, Guloien Theatre, Streetcar\/Crowsnest. Sept. 6 to Oct. 2. Tickets available here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Director Chris Abraham has given us an Uncle Vanya<\/em> for the ages. This magnificent production is a joy to behold on every level, be it acting, set, lighting or sound.<\/p>\n

I have stated before that Tom Rooney is one of the best actors in Canada, and his complex portrayal of Vanya confirms this statement. His performance is so nuanced, it takes us into the very heart of this troubled man. We understand him absolutely.<\/p>\n

Rooney is surrounded by other great actors in this very diverse and talented cast.<\/p>\n

Bahia Watson gives an absolutely touching performance as Sonya \u2014 so innocent, so sweet, so cautious about life. Ali Kazmi\u2019s Dr. Astrov wears his heart on his sleeve. I\u2019ve never seen an Astrov so full of passion. He is absolutely compelling. For the first time in all the Uncle Vanya<\/em> productions I have attended, I felt sympathy for Yelena, performed by Shannon Taylor. The gorgeous Taylor, the object of infatuation by the men in the play, certainly plays up her radiance, but does not neglect the fact that she has a heart and humanity.<\/p>\n

Eric Peterson as the professor Alexandre has certainly become Canadian theatre\u2019s resident grumpy old man, which he plays in this production to perfection, and proves the complete narcissist that his character is. Carolyn Fe\u2019s Marina, the old nurse, is a delightful bundle of religious warmth. dTaborah Johnson is excellent as the aging Bohemian Maria, dripping boredom and elitism in equal measure, while Anand Rajaram as the hanger-on, much-put-upon Telegin can break hearts with his candid outbursts.<\/p>\n

\"Crow's
Crow’s Theatre ‘Uncle Vanya’ (Photo courtesy of Crow’s Theatre)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The daring set by Julie Fox and Josh Quinlan is in the round with pockets of furniture scattered about. The audience is so close to the actors that it seems we are living with them, as they move between tables and chairs and couches. Abraham\u2019s clever direction isolates these set pieces, highlighted by Kimberly Purtell\u2019s spot lighting, so we see the set transform between being one large room, to being area-specific when needed. The lovely windows with swag curtains on the wall and the chandelier over the set reinforce that this is a prominent manor house.<\/p>\n

Ming Wong\u2019s period costumes and Thomas Ryder Payne evocative sound design add to the excellence of this production. In Wong\u2019s case, there are three stand-out decisions \u2014 putting the hardworking estate manager Sonya in boy\u2019s overalls, having Yelena\u2019s first entrance be in a dazzling white dress and parasol which establishes her vibrant beauty in one fell swoop, and fashioning a clever Bohemian outfit in bits and pieces for Maria.<\/p>\n

Then, there is Liisa Repo-Martell\u2019s brilliant adaptation. Repo-Martell is better known as an actor, but she proves herself an adapter of skill with this Uncle Vanya<\/em>. Perhaps her acting chops allowed her to craft dialogue that flows easily off the tongue in true naturalistic fashion.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to put into words just what a wonderful production this Uncle Vanya<\/em> is that isn\u2019t going to sound like a laundry list of superlatives. In other words, this is a run-don\u2019t-walk.<\/p>\n

By the way, Chekhov called his play comedies. I have always found the playwright depressing, but Ripo-Martell\u2019s adaptation and Abraham\u2019s direction did produce a few smiles, even chuckles.<\/p>\n

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Crow’s Theatre Director Chris Abraham has given us an Uncle Vanya for the ages, a magnificent production that is a joy to behold on every level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":80256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[39907,52,62,63],"tags":[40271,40272,23344],"yst_prominent_words":[30802,12857],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/Crows-Theatre-Uncle-Vanya-REVIEW.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-kSp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80253"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80253"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80258,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80253\/revisions\/80258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80253"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=80253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}