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Theatre Review Essay

938 Words4 Pages

The first production I was able to see this semester was Uncle Vanya on Sunday, January 21st. The show was screened at the Michigan Theatre and I paid the student price for my ticket, only fifteen dollars. The performance was presented by Stage Russia HD, performed at Moscow’s Vakhtangov Theatre. The show was performed in Russian, so English subtitles were added to the screening. Sergey Makovetskiy played the title role, and the production was directed by Rimas Tuminas. The scenic and costume design was done by Adomas Jacovskis with lighting design by Maya Shavdatuashvili. The show was a intense and fascinating production, not only because of the talent of the actors on stage and the interesting story, but because of the beautiful design …show more content…

While the set suggested the interior of a house, there were many aspects left abstract. The set never really changed, certain props being brought out to imply different rooms and a couch that was turned around at intermission being the only real differences. The set consisted of a large archway that resembled the interior wall of a home with a sofa stage right, a workbench stage left, and a statue of a lion upstage. The purpose and reason behind of the lion statue was a bit confusing, but in its mostly concealed and dim position, it added to the eerie nature of the production. All of the scenic elements conveyed an old and worn atmosphere that supported the atmosphere of the …show more content…

There were multiple times where two different colors of light hitting the actors from different directions helped to create depth on stage as well as heighten the emotional tension of the scene. One of the most constant instances of lighting that was very noticeable in the performance was the presence of a small circle of light upstage. This circle seemed to represent the sun or moon and helped to balance the upstage playing area with the lion statue. This paired with the low light upstage and the dim highlight on the statue reinforced the peculiar tone produced throughout the show. the haunting sadness and melancholic mood already created within the

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