Adaptations of the plays of the pre-revolutionary Russian naturalist Anton Chekhov are nothing new. For example, in London’s West End, Andrew Scott is delivering a bravura one-man version of Uncle Vanya, which in 2011 was renamed Dear Uncle by Alan Ayckbourn and relocated to 1930s Cumbria. Ten years later, Thomas Kilroy brilliantly transposed The Seagull to late 19th-century Ireland. Here, though, the prize-winning playwright Peter Arnott is attempting something less usual: a brand new play that he describes as “Scottish Chekhov”.
An impressive, nine-strong ensemble establishes various Chekhov-style tropes: a country house party (in Perthshire); a once-charismatic academic on the point of retirement (Rennie, played by John Michie); his family and former disciples, summoned for an announcement; a country on the brink of change (the eve of Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum). Conversations uncover undercurrents and set up conflicts that resonate with wider sociopolitical concerns. Cue the reopening of old wounds, the retreading of old arguments and a climactic meal at which Rennie launches his bombshell news – to damp squib effect. The premise is promising, but the writing feels trammelled by its own cross-referentiality.
