Uncle Vanya, Harold Pinter Theatre

A starry team assemble to transform Chekhov's Uncle Vanya for a new West End production. Olivier-winning playwright Conor McPherson, whose hits include Girl from the North Country and The Weir, re-works the 1898 classic to explore the passion, humour and frustration of life at the turn of the 20th century.

Bafta-winning stage and screen star Toby Jones plays the titular Uncle Vanya, who fritters away his time on a crumbling countryside estate, with his niece Sonya for company. Occasionally they are visited by the local doctor, Astrov, who is played by Richard Armitage (The Hobbit, Oceans 8).

But the status quo is shattered when Vanya's brother returns home with a glamorous new wife. As Vanya and Astrov both fall under this young woman's spell, and Sonya looks on, their own provincial limitations suddenly feel stifling. Polite propriety falls away in a story that scrutinises the quiet reality of desperation and repressed emotions. It will be interesting to see how the bitter comedy and devastating climax resonate in this new take on the play.

Prolific director Ian Rickson, who last worked with Conor McPherson, to awards and acclaim, in The Weir, will direct this new adaptation of Uncle Vanya.

Tickets for Uncle Vanya at the Harold Pinter Theatre are now on sale. Click here to book.