Uncle Vanya

This is a blog for the Belgrade Theatre's production of Uncle Vanya. This brand-new production offers a fresh approach to Chekhov's masterpiece which sees a retired celebrity and his beautiful young wife return to their country estate, turning the humdrum lives of everyone around them upside down for ever. A co-production with London's Arcola Theatre, this new version of Uncle Vanya has been adapted and directed by the internationally-acclaimed Helena Kaut-Howson, who is known for her sensual and innovative approach to classics. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-17689189-8']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

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Uncle Vanya is nominated for 5 Off West End Awards!

Uncle Vanya has been nominated for five Off West End Awards (Offies) including Best Production, while writer and director Helena Kaut-Howson is in the running for Best Director. Simon Gregor, who played Astrov and Paul Bigley, who played Telegin, have both been nominated for Best Male Actor and Hara Yannas has been nominated for Best Female Actor for her portrayal of Sonya.

  Find out more about the Offies by clicking here:

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Alex Wardle, Lighting Designer for Uncle Vanya (on until 23rd April), takes us through the use of lighting.

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We spoke to some of our audience members after the show last night to see what they thought of Uncle Vanya. Watch Glenys and Keith Bradbury, Ridanne Sheridan and Chris Dawson, Nigel and Jane Young, and Sheila Bates give their reviews here!

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The reviews are in...

Click on the below links to read some of the fantastic reviews Uncle Vanya has received so far. We'll update this post as and when new reviews come in so please check back. The Daily Telegraph -  - "Helena Kaut-Howson's revival at the Belgrade, Coventry is very good indeed - so beautifully modulated it catches the rich ambivalences of Chekhov's writing." Dominic Cavendish

The Guardian -  - "One of the fresher, funnier Vanyas of recent memory." Alfred Hickling The Observer - "Helena Kaut-Howson demonstrates a sure feel for the notoriously difficult rhythms of Chekhov's dialogue and (in-)action." Clare Brennan

The Times  - "A lucid and ultimately affecting production of a great play." Dominic Maxwell

The Sunday Times  - "Helena Kaut-Howson's production is clear and matter-of-fact, moving but unsentimental." John Peter

The Birmingham Post  - "Chekhov's finely-nuanced dialogue is a gift to actors and it is very well performed here." Terry Grimley

The Coventry Telegraph  - "There are some wonderfully understated and touching performances." Marion McMullen

The Leamington Courier - "This is theatre at its best - warm, intelligent and thought-provoking." Jane Howard

The Public Reviews  - "The detail lavished on this production is evident as is the commitment from the actors." Elizabeth Vile

The Good Review - "A lovely and thought provoking production of a brilliant play." Keiran James

Reviewsgate - "...totally convincing, frustrating yet compelling production. It is an ‘Uncle Vanya’ that will remain in the memory for a long time to come." Jan Pick

The Leamington Courier - "Thoughtful theatre at its best." Barbara Goulden

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Visit Original Link

Listen!

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Take a look at these fantastic production photographs taken by Robert Day. Unfortunately, we couldn't fit in the cast member's full names so the key below should help.

MO - Marianne Oldham JS - Jon Strickland HY - Hara Yannas SG - Simon Gregor GW - Geoffrey Whitehead

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An interview with Marianne Oldham from Uncle Vanya, who plays Yelena Serebryakov.

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Here a few shots from the final rehearsals for cast and crew preparing for Saturday's opening show of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. Hope you enjoy! **There is now a full set of pictures up on our Flickr page here: http://bit.ly/vanyashots

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#checkoutChekhov twitter competition

As part of the Uncle Vanya run (starts this Saturday and until 23 April in B2), we're running #checkoutChekhov on twitter.

#checkoutChekhov is a series of Chekhov quotes, facts, opinions, etc, some real and 'some' fake. We want you to try and spot the fake ones. Not only this, but if you tweet to us the fake Chekhov's @BelgradeTheatre, you'll automatically go into the hat for a chance to win tickets to the show.

#checkoutChekhov is on our twitter page, which can be found here: http://twitter.com/BelgradeTheatre

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Our Assistant Stage Manager, David Morris, has taken a couple of rehearsal photographs for us.

The first one is Marianne Oldham as Yelena and Geoffrey Whitehead as Professor Serebryakov and the second one is of Marianne Oldham as Yelena and Jon Strickland as Vanya. The final photograph is of Tricia Kelly as Nyanya, Hara Yannas as Sonya and Geoffrey Whitehead as Professor Serebryakov.

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We visited the Belgrade Production Services workshop on Red Lane to see how the set design for Uncle Vanya is coming on.

The play is set on a remote country estate so there's quite alot of woodland around and we'll be using these real Silver Birch trees to depict this. We rescued these from a site in Sutton Coldfield that was being cleared for a development project but they're more green than silver at the moment so they're in the process of being cleaned!

The other two pictures are of a staircase that will be onset throughout the show and the costume rack.

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Paul Bigley, who plays Telegin, chatted to us about his role in the play and the rehearsal process so far.

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Here are some photographs of the cast.

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Here’s a sneak peek of Sophie Jump's beautiful set and costume designs for Uncle Vanya.

The first few photos are of the model box which is a scale model created to show how the set design will look in three dimensions. The rest are some early sketches of the costumes and some pictures that Sophie used as inspiration for the set design.

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Director Helena Kaut- Howson tells us a bit more about Uncle Vanya and why she has chosen to adapt this classic story.

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Welcome!

Welcome to our blog for our brand new production of Uncle Vanya in co-production with Arcola Theatre, London which will be running in the B2 auditorium from Sat 2 to Sat 23 April.

We'll be updating the blog regularly with pictures, videos and more information about the show so make sure you keep checking back for all the behind the scenes action!