UNCLE VANYA

by Anton Chekhov, in a new version by David Fletcher
Director: David Fletcher

PERFORMANCE DATES 23 October – 2 November 2024
Rehearsals: there will be a few preliminary rehearsals in July and August, with full rehearsals starting in early September.

READING: Monday, 6 May at 7.30 p.m.
AUDITION: Sunday, 12 May at 3.00 p.m.

The reading and the audition will be held at the theatre. If you know the Loft, please come to the Stage Door at the rear of the theatre in Spencer’s Yard. There is access through the gate to the left of The Fold on Spencer Street. If you are new to the Loft please come to the front of the theatre on Victoria Colonnade, adjacent to the river.

THE PLAY
The complexity of the play is not clear from the basic plot – but here goes. The play takes place on a remote estate in Russia, which has been managed for years by Sonya and her uncle Vanya for the financial benefit of Professor Serebryakov. He has now retired and has come to live in the house with his much younger wife, Yelena. Their arrival has unsettled the previously calm and hard-working atmosphere, and tensions emerge between the characters. For actors, these are dream roles. Chekhov creates characters that are incisively dramatic, but with vast space for the exploration of what lies beneath. It is a play of sadness and disenchantment, but it has its own eccentric sense of humour, and contains moments of sexual tension. It is also extraordinarily prescient on the issue of man-made environmental damage.

THE ROLES
Ages are guidelines only. The ages of Yelena, Vanya, and Astrov are mentioned in the text, but there will be some wiggle-room! The generational age gaps need to work.

Serebryakov, a retired professor, ‘worn-out and brittle as a piece of desiccated fish’.
Yelena, his wife, twenty-seven years old. ‘What a stunning woman she is!’.
Sonya, his daughter by a former marriage (probably late 20s/early 30s). ‘She’s not pretty, but she is clever and pure and good’. And she breaks your heart.
Vanya, Sonya’s uncle, forty-seven years old. ‘My best years have gone for nothing’.
Mariya, a widow, Vanya’s mother, she ‘hates everything except her pamphlets and the professor’.
Astrov, a doctor, ‘sensitive but weary’. Yelena guesses he is 40ish, but Nanny calls him old.
Telegin (Waffles), an impoverished landowner. ‘I’ve forfeited my happiness, but I have kept my pride’. An ability to play the guitar a bonus (but not essential).
Nanny, an old servant.

AUDITION GUIDELINES
For the audition you will be asked to perform different parts of the text with other auditionees. The text of David Fletcher’s new version will be provided on the day, and you will be given time to read through and prepare with other actors. If you wish to familiarise yourself with the play in advance, many libraries hold copies of other versions and there are some available free online.

To register interest, or if you are interested but can’t make the dates… or for any more information, please get in touch with the director, David Fletcher, by email at davidfletcher@lofttheatrecompany.com or the Artistic Director, Sue Moore at suemoore@lofttheatrecompany.com.

CASTING POLICY
The Loft’s casting policy is centred on casting the very best actors for each role. Casting will always be open and neutral. Everyone is welcome and warmly encouraged to attend auditions. If specific race/ethnicity or other characteristics are central to the story, we will make this clear in audition notices. There is no pre-casting without the express permission of the Artistic Director.

We no longer have membership subscriptions. It is free to join our company.

We look forward to welcoming you.