Simon Stephens

i honestly don't know what to rate this. a tentative 2.5 ? 2.9? 3 or 4? genuinely i don't know.

i didn't. LIKE this play. it wasn't really something to be enjoyed? it's kind of gruesome, honestly, in a non-graphic way. but i think from a playwriting perspective, it's really interesting and different--i like the way stephens plays with the idea of the stage, and of actors. the note at the beginning: "This play can be performed by any number of actors. It can be performed in any order." and the show more only two stage directions, repeated multiple times: "Images of hell. / They are silent." they're both... yeah. they really appeal to me.

basically. weird! but i'm sort of glad i read it. there's commentary at the beginning that i did not go through, because i wanted to go in blind, but maybe reading it will change my perspective. we shall see. show less

Two One-Handers
Review of the Audible Original audiobook (April 30, 2020) based on the two-play stageplay (2019) based on the original plays "Sea Wall" (2019) by Simon Stephens & "A Life" (2019) by Nick Payne

Sea Wall by Simon Stephens as performed by Tom Sturridge gets top listing here, but it is A Life by Nick Payne as performed by Jake Gyllenhaal that will leave the bigger impression. Both plays are monologues dealing with extreme life events, but A Life uses the juxtaposition of the death show more of the speaker's father with the birth of his child in the most striking manner. The monologue shifts between the two scenarios seamlessly and a trip to the hospital for one event can turn into the resolution of the other and back and forth. Due to the relative shortness of the works, they were combined into a double feature off-Broadway/on-Broadway production and now in this excellent Audible Original.

Sea Wall / A Life was one of ten Audible Originals available free for Audible members in May 2020. It is available to everyone for a standard price.

Trivia and Link
You can see Jake Gyllenhall perform the opening of A Life when he makes a cameo appearance at a Chris Thile concert here. show less

Essence of Uncle Vanya
Review of the Methuen Drama paperback (October 9, 2023) adapted by Simon Stephens based on Anton Chekhov's original play Дядя Ваня (1897).

Ivan enters with a gun.
Alexander: Stop him! Somebody stop him! Help me! He's lost his mind!
Helena: Give me the gun, Ivan. Give me the gun. Give it to me.
Ivan: Let me go Helena.
Where the fuck is he? Ah. There he is.
Bang!
Did I miss him? Did I miss him?
Oh my fucking God, My God. My God. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
No. No. Stupid. Stupid.

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Stupid. Stupid. I fucking missed.

Those familiar with Chekhov's original Uncle Vanya should easily see how closely the above excerpt mirrors it using contemporary uncensored vernacular. You can look up the original (see below in Trivia and Links) if you like. I wanted to use that dramatic climax of Act III as an example of how Simon Stephen's adaptation differs from, but is still faithful, to the original.

I went to see Andrew Scott's extraordinary tour-de-force performance in all the parts of Vanya through the National Theatre Live in cinemas series. This capped off my month long Vanyaology expedition of seeing the revival of Liisa Reppo-Martell's acclaimed Toronto production and reading David Mamet's adaptation, Richard Nelson's adaptation and Richard Pevear's & Larissa Volokhonsky's complete translation.

See poster at https://scontent-ord5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/429687275_25882464941352280_2...
National Theatre Live poster for "Vanya" with Andrew Scott. Image sourced from NTLive.

Although the playscript is credited as being developed together with actor Andrew Scott, it is only a slim replica of what the actor brings to the stage performance. Acting out all 8 roles (the walk-on part of the workman messenger is dropped, as it is in most productions), Andrew Scott makes use of the tiniest of objects (sunglasses, a dish cloth, a radio, fondling a necklace etc.) along with voice modulation to signal his change from one character to the next and then back again.

See photo at https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/429754076_25882465048018936_6...
Andrew Scott (as Michael aka Dr. Astroff) eats cheese as part of a midnight snack with Sonia during "Vanya."

I realize I'm really rating the performance here with 5-stars, but this was both the distilled essence of Chekhov presented in modern-day text along with an extraordinary challenge for a single actor to bring to life. Andrew Scott does that miraculously.

See photo at https://scontent-ord5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/429661618_25882465238018917_2...
Andrew Scott (as Sonia) sits at the (imagined) knee of Uncle Vanya at the conclusion of "Vanya."

Trivia and Links
You can see a trailer for the National Theatre Live production with Andrew Scott on YouTube here. The filmed performance was in cinemas in late February/early March 2024.

As Uncle Vanya is in the public domain, you can read various online translations at sources such as Project Gutenberg. The English language translator is not identified.

You can also read the original Russian language version of Uncle Vanya at iLibrary.ru. If you turn on web translator you can obtain your own rough translation. show less

By far the best free audible book I've ever experienced. This appears to be a Broadway performance of two short works, and is delivered very well as an audiobook. They are essentially two (very depressing) stories about family, birth, and death. Not really my thing, but if you're into that kind of story, well worth the $0.