Playwright Annie Baker’s acclaimed translation of ‘Uncle Vanya’ gets West Coast premiere

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Sept. 20, 2015 - PRLog -- On a country estate, Vanya's monotonous existence is thrust into chaos by the arrival of his brother-in-law’s beautiful new wife.

Hailed as one of the top 10 shows of 2012 by both The New York Times and New York magazine, Baker introduces 21st century audiences to Chekhov's enduring wit, insight and emotional depth with “a version that sounds to our contemporary American ears the way the play sounded to Russian ears during the play’s first productions in the provinces in 1898,”

According to a profile in The New York Times, Uncle Vanya is Baker’s favorite play, and digging into the original led to an even stronger affinity with Chekhov. Baker called it a “huge revelation” to “discover that the Russian text is riddled with ellipses, sentence fragments and filler — words like ‘tak’ and ‘nu,’ rough equivalents of ‘um’ and ‘er.’ ” Previous translations have “weirdly translated” those fragments “into full sentences with periods… Not many people translate the filler,” she said.

“As interpreted by Annie, these Chekhov characters talk and relate like me, and they don’t pull any punches,” says director Robin Larsen. “The play is perfectly relevant to today. It’s the human dilemma, played out again and again over time, and in every culture. The dysfunction of ego is universal and timeless.”

Annie Baker is currently one of America’s most celebrated playwrights. Her other full-length plays include John (recently closed in an extended run at the Signature Theatre), The Flick (Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Susan Smith Blackburn Award, Obie Award for Playwriting), Circle Mirror Transformation (Playwrights Horizons, Obie Award for Best New American Play, Drama Desk nomination for Best New American Play), The Aliens (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Obie Award for Best New American Play) and Body Awareness (Atlantic Theater Company, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play/Emerging Playwright). Her plays have been produced at over 150 theaters throughout the U.S. and in over a dozen countries around the world. Other recent honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, Hull-Warriner Award, Steinberg Award and the Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library.

In the Antaeus tradition best known as “partner casting,” two actors share every role, working together throughout the rehearsal process to enrich the creative experience for both cast and audience.  Audiences, return to see the same play in the hands of an equally excellent but very different set of actors.

Performances of Uncle Vanya take place Oct. 15 through Dec. 6 on Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. (no matinee performance on Saturday, Oct. 15). Talk back Thursdays begin on Oct. 22: stay after the performance and discuss the play with the cast. Six preview performances take place Oct. 8 through Oct. 14. Tickets are $30 on Thursdays and Fridays (except Oct. 15 and Oct. 16 which are $34 and include a post-performance reception), and $34 on Saturdays and Sundays. Preview tickets are priced at $15. The Antaeus Theatre Company is located at 5112 Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood, CA 91601. Parking is available for $8 in the lot at 5125 Lankershim Blvd. (west side of the street), just south of Magnolia.The theater is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. For reservations and information, call 818-506-1983.