It sounds, at first, like a joke.  A one-man version of Uncle Vanya.  That is, one actor will play Aleksandr, Yelena, Sonya, Maria, Vanya, Mikhail, Illya Illych, and Marina (though their names will be Anglicized).  That actor will harangue himself, he will shoot at and miss himself, he will even make love to himself.  He will alternate between old and young, between man and woman, all while maintaining the pathos of the text and avoiding cheap silliness.

The most surprising thing about Vanya, starring Andrew Scott and adapted by Simon Stephens, is that it works.  It works really well.  Scott is so effortless in both the performances and the transitions between his eight different roles that the audience soon accepts the conceit.  Despite its outlandish nature, the play doesn’t draw undue attention to its formal gambit.  Instead, it is a modest and intimate means of rewatching Anton Chekhov’s greatest play.  Like a cover version of a favorite song, it makes you hear the words a little differently.

The stage is simple but purposeful: instead of a crumbling Russian estate, Vanya is set in a small apartment with a kitchenette.  This suggests an additional layer to the drama: perhaps we are not watching Scott perform Uncle Vanya but instead we are watching Scott play a character who has decided to perform Uncle Vanya—alone, in his apartment, while drinking.

In either case, Vanya is invigorating.

Vanya runs through May 11th at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.  121 Christopher Street  New York, NY.  1 hour 40 minutes.  No intermission. Photograph by Julieta Cervantes.