Book: Leo Tolstoy
Adapted by : Helen Edmundson
Director: Anthony Lau
“Politics is our daily bread,” wrote George Eliot in the great 19th Century novel, Felix Holt. She omitted history, culture, faith, religion, morality, education, justice, gender, social class and a dozen other literary themes, without even mentioning love and death, or war and peace. The scope of novels can be vast; rendering one into a few hours on a stage is an enormous challenge.
Unsurprisingly, adaptor Helen Edmundson focuses on the central love story, which is mirrored by, and contrasted with, relationships between other characters. Anna, married to the uptight government official, Count Karenin, falls in love with the dashing military officer Count Vronsky, and the two begin an affair. Anna, who already has a young son, becomes pregnant with Vronsky’s child. Vronsky and Anna elope to Europe, where they are social outcasts. Vronsky grows restless; Anna becomes increasingly anxious and jealous. Confused, angry, and by now addicted to morphine, she slowly self-destructs and throws herself under a train.
Anna is at the centre of this maelstrom throughout, rarely leaving the stage, and much of the tone and emotional energy relies on Adelle Leonce in the title role. She gives a masterful and measured performance, capturing Anna’s original passion and vibrancy, and then the mounting anguish of separation from her child, ostracisation by society, and apparent neglect by her lover, as she gradually descends into despair.
Other parts serve only to reflect Anna’s tribulations, so while Vronsky may be the catalyst of Anna’s tragedy, Chris Jenks has an uphill struggle to bring the Count into three dimensions. Nick Fletcher is in similar territory as the wronged husband Karenin. Solomon Israel, as the reprobate Stiva, is gifted more interesting material and makes the most of the part.
Douggie McKeekin brings both solemnity and compassion to the role of Levin, generally regarded as the moralistic voice of the author. In this adaptation, he shares with Anna the role of omniscient narrator and tragic chorus, commenting on the action and exploring the interior landscapes of the characters in dialogue which is often very touching. Their constant refrain is “where are you?”, as they try to connect, while building the story line.
The staging is lively, with a strong cast morphing into a variety of roles to create the social life of aristocratic St. Petersburg, the hedonism of urban Moscow, and the more slapstick peasant lifestyle of the country estates.
Staging is simple, and almost fully in the round, which works very well. But the choice of the few props often seems at odds with the prevailing mood. Hula hoops, ice lollies, sparklers and inflatable swans may provide light relief, but they also undermine the seriousness of the play. The sound and light palette are excellent and the freshness of the upbeat music enliven an inevitably dour narrative. The theme of trains haunts the tragic arc of the play. In the opening sequence a rail worker is killed, and the hiss of steam, the clang of bells, and the ghoulish figure of the dead railway-man stalk Anna until her own fatal collapse onto the rails.
Tolstoy takes 1000 pages to tell Anna’s story in novel form. Helen Edmundson, Anthony Lau, and their versatile cast sacrifice some of the subtleties of the original to tell a story that can work in two and a half hours on stage. What remains is a compelling narrative about the choices, both forced and unforced, which can define a character, and dictate the pattern of a life.
Runs until 26th February 2022
The Reviews Hub Score
Tragedy Triple Distilled
