April 18, 2005 -

There is not a false moment or emotion anywhere in this pitch-perfect production.
Edmonton Sun

Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya has always been my most beloved classical play.  It is the most deeply beautiful and darkly comic portrait of regret and longing that I know.
Tom Wood

Ottawa -- Acclaimed Canadian playwright/actor Tom Wood’s brilliant new version of Anton Chekhov’s beloved classic Uncle Vanya, titled simply Vanya, opens at the NAC Theatre on April 21 after a hugely successful run at The Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. Vanya, an NAC English Theatre/Citadel Theatre (Edmonton) world premiere coproduction and part of the NAC’s Alberta Scene Festival,  runs at the NAC until May 7 with performances at 19:30, Tuesday through Saturday.  Saturday matinees take place at 14:00 on April 23 and 30 and May 7.  There will also be a matinee on Wednesday April 27 at 12:30.  Tickets are available at the NAC Box Office in person, or through Ticketmaster at (613) 755-1111, or online through the Ticketmaster link at www.nac-cna.ca (a service charge applies to all purchases made through Ticketmaster). 

On an isolated Alberta farm in 1928 life can be a struggle.  For Vanya, that struggle has all been for the benefit of one man, Alexander, the pride of the family, the brilliant academic from the big city in the East. And now Alexander has come home, to take refuge in his retirement on the Northern Alberta farm that has sustained him for so many years, and he has brought his enchanting young wife with him.  But a working farm is no place for an intellectual and a sophisticated young woman, and their eagerly awaited arrival quickly results in upset routines, desperate self-reflection and the surfacing of unrequited yearnings.

Tom Wood’s adaptation, set on the Prairies immediately before the Great Depression, beautifully preserves Chekhov’s dry, tragi-comic style where the lines between laughter, tears and rage are as blurry as a windbreak on a prairie horizon.

Not only a widely-acclaimed playwright, Tom Wood is also a veteran of the stage. In this production he plays the title character, Vanya, a role he has referred to as his “Hamlet.”  He says of the start of this project that it was anything but straightforward.  “I was doing some research for the hundredth anniversary (in 2005) of the province of Alberta,” he recalls.  “As I dragged up all these archival photos, I realized that the people in the pictures were living in much the same climate as Chekhov was writing about, and that many of the Canadian settlers I was looking at were Russian and Ukrainian immigrants facing the same kind of horrific loneliness he describes in the play.”  When asked why he chose to adapt Chekhov’s play and why now, Wood comments, “Uncle Vanya has always been my favorite Chekhov play, and perhaps the most powerful of his works, but every version I’ve ever read has been adapted in the 30s or 50s.   The language was always so stilted.”Director Bob Baker, a longtime collaborator with Wood, says of the playwright, “Tom has a gift for preserving the integrity of original classic works while creating relevant theatre for a modern audience.”  Baker would know, having directed all of Wood’s other world premiere adaptations including a hugely successful production of A Christmas Carol.

Vanya is directed by Citadel Theatre Artistic Director, Bob Baker.  Set and Costume Design for this production are by Leslie Frankish.  Lighting Designer is John (Jock) Munro, and Sound Design is by Michael Becker.

The cast features Tom Wood in the title role of Vanya; local actor Pierre Brault as Waffles; Catherine Fitch as Sonya; David McNally as Dr. Michael Astroff; Wilma Pelly as Nana; Grant Reddick as Alexander; Barbara Reese as Vera; and Jan Alexandra Smith as Elena. Stage Manager for this production is Michelle Chan, working with Assistant Stage Manager Stéfanie Séguin.

Tickets for Vanya are available at the NAC Box Office in person or through Ticketmaster at (613) 755-1111, and on-line through the Ticketmaster link on the NAC’s web site at www.nac-cna.ca  (a service charge applies to all purchases made through Ticketmaster). Students (with a valid student card) may purchase half-price tickets at the NAC Box Office only. Ticket prices are from $27.00 to $59.00.  Students should visit the Live Rush™ page online at www.liverush.ca to find out how to obtain Live Rush seats ($9.50) available on a first-come, first-served basis after 18:00 on the day of performance. Groups of 20+ save up to 20% on NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances.  To book call 947-7000 ext: 384 or email grp@nac-cna.ca

The NAC English Theatre is pleased to have The Ottawa Citizen as its media partner for the English Theatre Main Stage 2004-2005 Season.

The National Arts Centre’s Alberta Scene is the second in a series of biennial regional festivals to take place in the nation’s capital which will showcase the best in Canadian arts and culture from coast to coast to coast. Six hundred established and emerging artists from Alberta will take part in over 95 events ranging from theatre, visual arts, film, comedy and literature, to country, Aboriginal, pop and classical music – and even culinary arts. For 13 days beginning April 28, 2005, and ending on May 10, 2005, it will be as if Alberta has moved to the nation’s capital.

Alberta Scene is presented by EPCOR and supported by Major Sponsors TSX Venture Exchange, The Banff Centre, and National Arts Centre Friends - Alberta. Performance Sponsors are Enbridge, CIBC, and Suncor Energy Inc. Media sponsors include CBC Radio-Canada, the National Post, the Ottawa Citizen, LeDroit, the Edmonton Journal, the Calgary Herald, and Y1O1 FM. Supporting Sponsors include Edmonton Festival City, Galaxie, CD Warehouse, mymusic.ca, Holiday Inn, Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation, and Big Rock Brewery.

For ticket information or to view the full Alberta Scene lineup of performers, as well as the time and date of shows and activities, please visit www.albertascene.ca.

Vanya-  Listings Info.

• April 21 to May 7 (Preview April 20)  No performances Sundays or Mondays
• NAC Theatre
• 19:30 Tuesday through Saturday; Wednesday matinee for students and seniors at 12:30, April 27
  Saturday matinees 14:00, April 23, 30 and May 7
• Tickets available at NAC Box Office in person; through Ticketmaster 755-1111 or on-line through Ticketmaster link www.nac-cna.ca
• Tickets from $27.00 to $59.00; Students (with valid student card) may purchase half-price tickets in person at the Box Office.

Other activities related to Vanya are:

• Pre-Show Chat – An informal discussion before the Saturday Matinee performance – Saturday, April 23 at 13:00 in the NAC Panorama Room  Guest Speaker: Bob Baker, Director and Artistic Director, Citadel Theatre, Edmonton.
• Thursday Talkbacks –  A Post-Performance Question and Answer session with performers - Thursday, April 28 and May 5

photo: David Cooper, Tom Wood as Vanya

For more information contact:
Laura Denker,
Publicity and Media Relations Coordinator,
NAC English Theatre
(613) 947 7000 ext. 389;
ldenker@nac-cna.ca

Digital photography: Production images from Vanya are available for download in digital format (jpeg) at http://www.nac-cna.ca/media/ Just follow the links to Vanya