ncle Vania is Chekov's timeless masterpiece reflecting on the major human passions: love, search for happiness, loneliness and the longing to understand the meaning of life. These passions will never change, but the way people relate to or express them changes over time.

In this particular production Uncle Vania turned into a tale of people that were brought together, not only by circumstances, but also by their shared fear of something big and destructive that was about to shake their existence. Women proudly wore beautiful dresses and men constantly strove to be loved, so as to avoid their disturbing sense of upcoming disaster. They fought, blamed and screamed at each other in order to deafen their own intuitions. And Chekov, perhaps better then any other author, knows how dangerous it is not to listen to one's inner voice.

All the cast members were quite deliberately younger then the characters they portrayed. They wore pale, ageless make up to underline the entrapment; the cursed time capsule; the house of Voinitskies that prevented them from moving on. Nevertheless, little grains of truth and beauty were still to be found in their suffocating environment. They still were capable of love and friendship. The striking contrast between the generally heavy atmosphere of the play and the occasional glimpses of the beauty of the human spirit made this piece unforgettable.

It was plain to see that Chekov's characters were on the verge of a changing world. Whether it was an upcoming Russian revolution or the coming new century, the reality they lived in was fast coming to an end.

Again a new century has just started. Wasn't it the right time to consult Chekov's heroes once more?

A Magic Factory - Act Provocateur co-production
Directed by Dimitri Devdariani
Performed  in April/May 2006 at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre,
Gaisford Street, London NW5.