Tonight we witnessed the staging of "Uncle Vanya" at the Maly Theater. This play, of you are not familiar with it, follows the troubles of a family with rather common woes, from money problems to self-worth problems. Most of the characters expressed sadness and disappointment that they were not able to achieve all that they dreamed in life, and it is this woe that drew them all together and yet also pushed them all apart in the end. They could not help each other, so they all separated to (presumably) sulk individually.
In classic Chekhov fashion, we grew to know these characters in a few short hours like we had lived with them all our lives, and only through watching them interact like "normal" people. However, were they really acting as normal people would? I would argue that they seemed a bit dramatic, but just enough to make them seem human. Also, they made mistakes that made it all believable, like Vanya missing both times when trying to shoot the professor. That was a very human thing to do, and it fit his character. It also seemed to be a symbol for his missed opportunities in life, blamed on the professor but which are his own fault in the end. He missed his shots. Also, the professor skated by somehow. These symbolic and yet real (blank) gun shots showed both.
The ending of this play seemed a bit slow, but this kept with the theme of sorrow over missed opportunities. This long ending scene was depicting them all officially giving up on each other, which really did deserve a funeral-like ceremony of a goodbye. They all seemed to me to be acting as if they were sending each other to their graves. A pity that some of them died so young, like Sonya.
No comments:
Post a Comment