Emily Louizou

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Chekhov’s characters exist on the brink of a new era; a new order is approaching. One they fear. Written 20 years before the Russian Revolution, what does this much loved play tell us about the world we live in today? Taking Russia’s past as inspiration in this historic year Walter Meierjohann’s production explores the acutely tragic and deeply comic spirit or Chekhov’s late masterpiece with a bold visual design and live music.

 

Starring a host of well-known theatre and TV names including HOME associate artist Katie West (Hamlet, Royal Exchange), Nick Holder (Fatherland, Royal Exchange; Some Girls, BBC), Jason Merrells (Safe House, ITV; Emmerdale, ITV; Waterloo Road, BBC) and veteran Manchester actor David Fleeshman.

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★★★★★ “You dream of this kind of night at the theatre… Katie West’s stunning performance as Sonya that left me breathless with admiration… Staged and directed with great subtlety… [A] must-see.” Northern Soul

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★★★★ “Katie West’s Sonya, Jason Merrells’s Doctor Astrov [are] both understatedly magnificent… The play’s achievement – and this production’s triumph – is to invest all this hopelessness with hope, too. Life will and must go on. So should this production; let’s hope it has a longer life elsewhere. Chekhov’s masterpiece is spellbindingly acted in a brilliant new version of the play.” – The Stage

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★★★★★ “Walter Meierjohann has brought this deeply layered and finely nuanced production to complete fruition… Truly absorbing… A stunning theatrical feast.” – Upstaged Manchester

 

★★★★ “[Walter] Meierjohann’s nuanced production is beautifully staged and carefully considered… Performances are exceptional across the board, though standouts are Nick Holder as the tragi-comic Vanya, David Fleeshman as Serebrayakov, Katie West as a naive and timid Sonya and Jason Merrells as the prescient and environmentally conscious Astrov.” – The Arts Shelf

 

★★★★ “In the hands of director Walter Meierjohann, Uncle Vanya, full of simmering passion and exquisite, evocative dialogue, feels so modern, so fresh… Live theatre doesn’t get any better than this and the music adds to the atmosphere. A production not to be missed.” – Stagestruck

 

★★★★★ “Director Walter Meierjohann understands his Chekhov and skilfully steers the characters through the paralysing morass of rural Russia on the cusp of change at the turn of the last century… His clear vision, coupled with a wonderful ensemble cast, results in an excellent production… Chekhov may not be your thing but this beautiful production could change your mind.” – Morning Star

★★★★ “It’s a stellar cast all round… None of the tension, the anger, the passion, is forced… It really does feel like we’re flies on the wall in this country house.” – Broadway World