Adaptations of the plays of the pre-revolutionary Russian naturalist Anton Chekhov are nothing new. For example, in London’s West End, Andrew Scott is delivering a bravura one-man version of Uncle Vanya, which in 2011 was renamed Dear Uncle by Alan Ayckbourn and relocated to 1930s Cumbria. Ten years later, Thomas Kilroy brilliantly transposed The Seagull to late 19th-century Ireland. Here, though, the prize-winning playwright Peter Arnott is attempting something less usual: a brand new play that he describes as “Scottish Chekhov”.
An impressive, nine-strong ensemble establishes various Chekhov-style tropes: a country house party (in Perthshire); a once-charismatic academic on the point of retirement (Rennie, played by John Michie); his family and former disciples, summoned for an announcement; a country on the brink of change (the eve of Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum). Conversations uncover undercurrents and set up conflicts that resonate with wider sociopolitical concerns. Cue the reopening of old wounds, the retreading of old arguments and a climactic meal at which Rennie launches his bombshell news – to damp squib effect. The premise is promising, but the writing feels trammelled by its own cross-referentiality.
As if trying to break free of his naturalist model, Arnott introduces a magic-realist element into the action. The ghost of the decades-dead teenage son of Rennie and Edie (Deirdre Davis) wanders through the scenes, wearing headphones, listening to voices from the past (through no fault of the actor, Robbie Scott, this is not always clear in performance). David Greig’s respectful direction errs in favour of the text, leaving the audience at times struggling to distinguish between the real and the ghostly.
Jessica Worrall’s mood-conjuring set facilitates the swift transitions between interiors and exteriors required for Greig’s seamless scene shifts. These two elements combined bring out a cinematic quality in the writing that suggests it might better achieve its Chekhovian aims on screen than on stage.
