Uncle Vanya

Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya (written in 1896) is one of the most emotional plays of all time, in which the genius playwright revealed the very essence of human life, the greatest desires and deepest disappointments.

All genres are depicted in this play about wasted human lives – comedy, drama, and tragedy. It is well known that A. Checkhov is not only a subtle psychologist but also a master of undercurrents. The play staged at The State Small Theatre of Vilnius gives you even more. Here the celebration of life erupts like a loud firework. Rejected love, unfulfilled hopes, and bitterness of dreams leave a lump in the throat. The play was created together with an international team at The State Small Theatre of Vilnius.

The director Tomi Janežič declared about the play: “I’m not sure if the world needs yet another stage interpretation of Chekhov. I am much more interested in searching for a relation towards Chekhov, a story, its characters. As the never before, today it is important to stage Uncle Vanya for a one more reason – success ideology that is so popular among us. We only talk about achievements, success, achieving goals or being happy… The pressure is enormous. This play reveals the opposite. We can undergo a failure, but accept that as something totally normal. This ideology of success and winners’ ideology is just too fake.”

TOMI JANEŽIČ

The director Tomi Janežič is an expert in dramaturgy by Anton Chekhov. He constantly returns to his plays where absurd was masterfully mixed with realities of life. T. Janežič is well known in Europe as a master who can create emotionally touching but at the same time intellectual performances. Even though Tomi Janežič’s works are filled with exceptional directorial interpretations, he is a true experimenter and a researcher of human nature. To stage a play is not the most important thing for him. The most important thing is to find a connection with people: actors, all creative group, and finally – the public. During rehearsals, the director uses the psychodrama method to mobilize the actor and to create a safe environment for opening up and creating.

Janežič is staging plays and presenting lectures in Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, and other countries. His plays are traveling all over the world and presented in the greatest European theater festivals (Wiener Festwochen, Avignon, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, MESS, etc.). The director has been awarded with several international theater awards. He also received the “Golden Mask” from the international BITEF theater festival award. T. Janežič is not only a director, but also a professor at the Academy for Theatre, Radio, Film, and Television (AGRFT) in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and a psychodrama psychotherapist. He is one of the founders and the artistic director of the Studio for Research on the Art of Acting.

SMALL THEATRE OF VILNIUS

The Small Theatre of Vilnius (STV) presents its works not only in Lithuania, but also on tours in the USA, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Germany, Israel, Italy, Greece, Georgia, the People’s Republic of China, Ukraine, Poland and others. Today, STV offers more than 20 plays for adults and children. The theatre’s repertoire includes works by European-renowned directors such as Tomi Janežič, Rimas Tuminas, and works by young directors such as Gabrielė Tuminaitė, Kirilas Glušajevas, Uršulė Bartoševičiūtė, Aleksandras Špilevojus, etc. valued by both critics and viewers. STV plays include both Lithuanian and world-famous dramaturgy. In 2020, in the face of a worldwide pandemic, Vilnius Small Theatre created the DramaTest platform. It is a new project of creativity, a space for experiments in drama and theatre. The most successful and best-rated performances from the DramaTest project become part of the STV repertoire.

THE CAST

Serebryakov Alexander Vladimirovich, retired professor – Arvydas Dapšys
Yelena Andreyevna, his wife, aged twenty-seven – Indrė Patkauskaitė
Sofia Alexandrovna (Sonya), his daughter by his first marriage – Ilona Kvietkutė
Voynitskaya Marija Vasyljevna, widow of a Privy Councillor, mother of the Professor’s first wife – Jūratė Brogaitė
Voynitsky Ivan Petrovich, her son – Arūnas Sakalauskas
Astrov Mikhail Lvovich, doctor – Martynas Nedzinskas
Telegin Ilya Ilych, retired landlord – Tomas Stirna
Marina, the old nanny – Vilija Ramanauskaitė
Vera, Serebryakov’s first wife, Sonya’s mother, deceased – Valda Bičkutė
Workman – Tomas Rinkūnas

Director and the author of adaptation – Tomi Janežič (Slovenia)
Playwright and Assistant to the Director – Nina Rajic Kranjac (Slovenia)
Set Designer – Branko Hojnik (Slovenia)
Costume Designer – Marina Sremac (Serbia)
Authors of Light Design – Tomi Janežič, Branko Hojnik
Light Designer – Vilius Vilutis
Translator – Laura Kutkaitė