This was a very good production with a top notch cast, performed in that pop-up coach station of a theatre that the Almeida used while the main theatre was getting its major revamp. I’m pretty sure we saw a preview.
Helen McCrory and Aidan Gillen led the way, ably supported by solid performers such as Adrian Scarborough and Jodhi May, directed by Jonathan Kent – one of his last productions at The Almeida.
Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this play/production.
This is not the greatest Chekhov play – it is an early play that shows traces of the brilliance to come. Chekhov recycled some of the best bits of this one into his later, now classic plays. This production was based on an adaptation by David Hare.
It was a very good evening at the theatre, as I remember it, albeit rather a bum-numbing long one.
Nicholas de Jongh spoke highly of the production in The Standard:
Platonov de Jongh Standard 12 Sept 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Our friend Michael Billington also wrote highly of it:
Platonov Billington Guardian 13 Sept 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Charles Spencer in The Telegraph was less sure:
Platonov Spencer Telegraph 13 Sept 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
