By Graham Hiley. Photos: Marc-Brenner
Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina may be a masterpiece – but it is heavy going.
At more than 800 pages this classic is a weighty tome with a dark tone but thankfully Phillip Breen’s adaptation at Chichester Festival Theatre has a much lighter touch.
This version, which has just received its UK premiere at the intimate and iconic West Sussex venue, is a contemporary and surprisingly funny telling of the classic tale. It is also probably fair to say it contains more F-Bombs than the great Russian writer’s original!
The humour makes it a much easier watch than might have been expected aided by a towering performance by Natalie Dormer in the title role.
The Hunger Games actor commanded the stage, perfectly capturing the full range of emotions experienced by Anna Karenina as she wrestles with a multitude of issues and insecurities.
Pain and panic are etched across her face as her life unravels after leaving her government official husband to embark upon a dangerous and destructive love affair with the magnetic Count Vronsky.
Her lover is smartly portrayed by Seamus Dillane whose father Stephen played Stannis Baratheon alongside Dormer’s character Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones.
The pair are utterly convincing as they pay a heavy price for daring to step outside the bounds of society with Anna’s husband Karenin (Tomiwa Edun) refusing to grant a divorce or access to her son while branding his wife as a criminal.
Meanwhile Vronsky’s discarded lover Kitty gets her claws into country landowner Levin (David Oakes) while her sister Dolly (Naomi Sheldon) proves a perfect foil to her philandering husband Stiva brilliantly played by Jonnie Broadbent.
The duelling duo provide much of the humour with Broadbent’s delightful deadpan delivery contrasting perfectly with Sheldon’s rants – none better than in the horse and carriage cleverly driven by Les Dennis as Petka.
A particularly smart move by the director has the main bickering characters mouthing asides to the audience. That not only adds to the fun of the piece but also introduces background explainers to help condense the story into around two hours 40 (plus interval).
Despite having been trimmed from its original production in Tokyo, it does occasionally feel a little long as it deals with so many issues which feel as relevant now as they were in Russia in the late 1870’s.
The characters explore society expectations, women’s rights, the complexities of marriage and the search for the meaning of life as well as individual neuroses and issues.
Max Jones’ clever stage design and Ruth Hall’s elaborate costumes add to the authenticity of the period drama with the atmosphere heightened by on-stage musicians Kotaro Hata, Akiko Ishikawa and Shin Kawahara.
It all makes for a beautiful production and a superb piece of art which is another triumph in Chichester’s Festival season. It runs until June 28. www.cft.org.uk.
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