I went to the first preview of STC’s Uncle Vanya on Tuesday night. This is a new adaptation by Andrew Upton, presented by Sydney Theatre Company and Goldman Sachs in association with Bell Shakespeare.

I thoroughly enjoyed the production. The adaptation is accessible, relevant and snappy, and the cast have a very strong intimacy with the text. I thought Hugo Weaving (Astrov) and Hayley McElhinney (Sonya) were standouts.

I felt the scene changes lagged and the payoff was not worth the wait. I will be forgiving on this point, however, as I assume these issues will be tightened up by Opening.

The show opens tonight, I highly recommend it to both Chekhov lovers and newbies, if you can manage to steal tickets somehow!