“Is there no room for love in your philosophy of life?”
One of the reasons Fawlty Towers remains so highly respected is because it
managed that rare feat of going out on a high after making just 12 episodes.
And though the reasons for the relatively limited dramatic output of Anton
Chekhov may be more to do with his untimely demise, the ethos seems to me to
remain similar – the handful of plays that he left behind should be celebrated
as such. But he was also a prolific writer of short stories and spotting an
opportunity to enrich the canon, novelist William Boyd has fashioned a new play
– Longing – from two of them, directed by Nina Raine (her of the astounding
Tribes) at the Hampstead Theatre.
Boyd has used one of Chekhov’s longest stories My Life and
“taken its core and impacted it on” one of his most obscure, A Visit to
Friends and what results is a story of distinctly Chekhovian flavour but
one calls to mind numerous of his other plays rather equalling them in their
depth and richness. Kolia is invited the summer estate of some old friends but
what he thinks will be a relaxing break turns into something much more complex
as long-buried emotions come up against current dramas in typically tragicomic
fashion. And there’s much to recognise: an ageing woman laments the summer
estate she is no longer in possession of, another dares to dream of the love
she has sacrificed for a working life, somebody longs to get back to
Moscow…these are all highly familiar themes and though they are skilfully woven
together by Boyd, there is rarely a sense of dramatic impetus compelling this particular
story to be told or ultimately justifying the exercise at large.
Where this production really does succeed though is in its sumptuous quality across
the cast and creative. Lizzie Clachan’s set of the summer house set in its
shaded glade is truly remarkable – forming an impressive backdrop for the open
space in front where most of the action takes place, allowing couples to wander
off into the woods to the side to share confidences and in a noteworthy scene
in the second half, letting us see a party full of drinking and dancing through
the windows from which various characters try to escape to make the emotional
connections they dream of. It looks glorious but more importantly, it serves
the production beautifully.
And there’s a cast to match. Tamsin Greig is heartbreaking as the resignedly
pragmatic Varia, hopeful that love might finally find her (she does much to
suggest that the bona fide Chekhovian grandes dames that must surely be in her
acting future will be epic); Iain Glen’s Kolia simmers as the buttoned-up
visitor who can’t quite pluck up the courage to connect with her; and Natasha
Little and Alan Cox bicker excellently as the former estate owners with an
uncertain future. And as the new proprietors, John Sessions has a marvellously
oleaginous quality as the arriviste Dolzikhov which is countered well by his more
moralistic son Misail – the palely unruly William Postlethwaite – desperately unhappy
at the match he cannot escape with Catrin Stewart’s grotesque Kleopatra.
As may be apparent, the mass of interconnecting stories is not inconsiderable
and feels suitably epic in scope and Nina Raine has pulled an excellent set of performances
from her cast (all the more so considering this was a first preview). But
having created this world that is so intrinsically linked to Chekhovian
expectation, Boyd doesn’t give it enough space to fully breathe and so it feels
as if we’re barely scratching the surface of many of the characters. It is a
high standard indeed to which Longing aspires.
Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes (with interval)
Playtext cost: £5
Booking until 6th April
Labels: Alan Cox, Catrin Stewart, Chekhov, Eve Posonby, Iain Glen, John Sessions, Mary Roscoe, Natasha Little, Nina Raine, Tamsin Greig, Tom Georgeson, William Boyd, William Postlethwaite