Getting Lost

Getting lost in London is possibly one of the easiest things to do. Luckily there is a map on about every city block and people are usually helpful in getting you directions to where you need to go. Unfortunately when maps tell you wrong information it can be a bit frustrating. We left to get to the Arcola theatre in Hackney very early as one of the girls I was with wanted to see some of the shops in the area. When we got there we looked at a map as to where the theatre was, on Arcola Street. Little did we know that the theatre had apparently moved recently and the maps hadn’t been updated since the move, so two other girls and I went venturing down some very sketchy looking streets to try and find something resembling a theatre. Eventually we gave in and called someone who told us where we should be. Luckily it wasn’t too much further in the opposite direction.

Uncle Vanya

I’ve never really been one for Chekov unless it’s a good adaptation being presented. In order for it to be good in my eyes is that they have to be able to find the humor in it. Chekov liked to deal with real life and the mundane and boring existences we tend to live. But in those everyday lives we do have a considerable amount of humor and so originally they were written to reflect that sort of hopeless laughter. This adaptation did a wonderful job of capturing this so called humor. The acting was amazing too. Everyone was so invested into what they were doing and saying, it may as well have been scenes taken from their own lives. They had a unique sort of dance like quality that they would explore in a couple moments in the first scene that dove into the character’s subconscious. However they seemed to have forgotten these little sequences in the second act because I don’t ever remember seeing them after the interval. Still a worthy production that should defiantly make a splash for the little theatre that is on the rise.

Tomorrow: David Bradley and Les Miserable