The London Theatre Review: West End’s One-Man Vanya

By Ross

A quiet flies fast over the excited crowds in the Duke of York’s Theatre in the West End of London, as Andrew Scott (Veracity Digital’s Sea Wall the Film) saunters out, flicking the house lights off with a devilish grin. He’s playing with us, knowing just how thrilled we all are to be there, for him and this one-man production of Anton Chekhov’s 1898 tragicomedy, Vanya. He casually makes himself a cup of tea, lights a cigarette, and ponders. Possibly thinking about this shorter, but sharpened Vanya, carved down to a clever framework, where a one-man acting army can hold true to the title, albeit a shortened one, and engage fully with the gamut of roles laid out before him.

Co-created with adaptor and playwright Simon Stephens (Heisenberg), director Sam Yates (Arts Theatre’s Murder Ballad), and designer Rosanna Vize (Royal Court’s Wordplay), Andrew Scott – the most loved and cherished actor from so many great things, it is hard to narrow it down to one Fleabag role – does the impossible. He holds us completely captive, gently and thoughtfully, in his outstretched hands, as he bounces a tennis ball to start the doctor’s match off to its brilliant beginnings, talking back and forth to himself, and embodying all in the most stellar of played games imaginable.

Laying waste ingeniously to the high-concept idea presented before us, Scott dives in, finding formulas and doorways for us to follow him through as he unpacks pages upon pages of Cheknovian themes with a craftsman-like precision. He’s a joy to behold, understanding each and every anglicized one in that room, all the way from Helena, the beautifully narcissistic wife of the elderly Alexander, now remodeled into an arrogant filmmaker, through his daughter, the love-struck Sonia, the world-weary love-doctor, Michael, over to the titular Uncle Vanya, lightened with some of the baggage down to simply “Vanya“. Each has their own quality or dishcloth to hold on to, shifting and turning from one to another with a thrilling adept velocity. It’s a masterclass of detailed deliverance, engaging in conversations with two or more of these complex characters with an off-kilter elegance while unpacking attachments and conflicts with a twirl of his wrist.

Vize’s deconstructed space exposes all the inner workings of this mischievous player, giving Scott ample space and props to draw out the details and dilemmas of these desperate souls to fill our hungry appetite. Mirrored before our very eyes, we run through that door with Scott, happily engaging with this utter unhappiness and the exhausting energy spent. And although the piece as a whole never really reaches the level of internalized despair that I have experienced with this play, it also never fails to keep us fully involved and engaged.

Vanya is all carefully constructed, with strong straight-forward lighting by James Farncombe (Young Vic/PAA’s Yerma), a solid sound design by Dan Balfour (NT’s Dear England), and detailed video projections by Jack Phelan (Bristol Old Vic’s Hamlet), but it’s Scott’s subtle shifts of voice and mannerisms that are the exceptional ingredient, indicating more than just who he is embodying at any given moment. Somehow, he gives us layers upon layers of emotional content as well, even when he finds himself on the floor sexually gyrating to our hearts’ content.

He’s playful in his mapped-out brilliance, surrounding himself with all those lunatics inside one body, becoming a maestro lunatic himself for our pleasure. It’s sharp, and endlessly entertaining, giving us echoes of others in his moving portrayals. I must admit that I feel blessed to have seen a production recently, the one played out in a downtown NYC loft by a band of brilliant actors giving it their all on a hot summer’s night. It helped formulate the frame, but who would have guessed you really only needed one, albeit a brilliant one to take it to the finishing line with aplomb. That solo driver is Andrew Scott, penetrating us all with his moving Sonia and the rest of these not-so-merry creatures that come alive in his one man and his Vanya.