Iavnov with Kenneth Branagh
Goodness, that was a strange experience. I’ve never laughed at Chekhov before! It was really fun, really entertaining. Hysterical in places. That must be Tom Stoppard’s new adaptation - roll on more adaptations from him. Apparently Chekhov makes them die laughing in Russia, and up to now translations haven’t managed to convey the humour. Who would have thought! I thoroughly recommend this production, as you might imagine, it being Ken Branagh. But also for the comedy. Wow, that feels odd.
Ivanov is, at its heart, the study of a man in both mid-life crisis and in terrible debilitating depression, and considering that Chekhov presumably would not, in the 1880’s, have heard or understood either term, I think that’s pretty impressive. My only disappointment was the fact that he shoots himself at the end, which while I can see that dramatically there was little else he could do, still felt a bit of a cop out, somehow. The supporting cast are all excellent as well, particularly the best friend Pasha, the first wife Anna, and the new young lover Sasha. They manage to convey themselves perfectly in each case, although not without their flaws. They’re all incredibly sympathetic. The only character who comes across as a really awful person is the young Doctor, who is ‘an honest man’ and thereby the cruellest of the lot - as I think is supposed to be the point. His morals have no flexibility, and so he cannot forgive, or empathise, and in fact, ends up spreading lies by sending poison pen letters all around the district.
It also conveys very well the terrible awfulness that is on-going depression - and the incredibly hard time people have around the person in question, and how much it can wear down others just as much as the sufferer.
All that and with humour too - who can ask for more! :)
EDIT: Nearly forgot to say! I also had a random encounter at Ivanov. In the interval, I ended up eating my icecream right next to Michael Caine! I must say, everyone was very professional and no-one bothered him, which I thought was lovely.
Ivanov is, at its heart, the study of a man in both mid-life crisis and in terrible debilitating depression, and considering that Chekhov presumably would not, in the 1880’s, have heard or understood either term, I think that’s pretty impressive. My only disappointment was the fact that he shoots himself at the end, which while I can see that dramatically there was little else he could do, still felt a bit of a cop out, somehow. The supporting cast are all excellent as well, particularly the best friend Pasha, the first wife Anna, and the new young lover Sasha. They manage to convey themselves perfectly in each case, although not without their flaws. They’re all incredibly sympathetic. The only character who comes across as a really awful person is the young Doctor, who is ‘an honest man’ and thereby the cruellest of the lot - as I think is supposed to be the point. His morals have no flexibility, and so he cannot forgive, or empathise, and in fact, ends up spreading lies by sending poison pen letters all around the district.
It also conveys very well the terrible awfulness that is on-going depression - and the incredibly hard time people have around the person in question, and how much it can wear down others just as much as the sufferer.
All that and with humour too - who can ask for more! :)
EDIT: Nearly forgot to say! I also had a random encounter at Ivanov. In the interval, I ended up eating my icecream right next to Michael Caine! I must say, everyone was very professional and no-one bothered him, which I thought was lovely.