Uncle Vanya: An Actor Prepares

Part of the shorthand we have developed in the rehearsal room helps us check in with where the characters’ allegiances lie at any given moment. We identify subtle shifts in where people are divided, and over what, to help ensure that the relationships between the characters are fluid, relative to current conversations and events, just as our interactions in real life colour our attitudes towards those around us.

One piece of shorthand is “Team Tree,” when we pause a scene and use a show of hands to identify who is united within, or against, a particular alliance at that point. The captain of Team Tree is the doctor, played by Tobias Menzies. In addition to offering an insight into a spot check technique, and specific piece of shared language from this rehearsal room, all of this serves (I hope), as an explanation of the images which follow.

On this week’s day off, I accompanied cast member Tobias Menzies, who is playing the doctor, to a Ightham Mote Estate in Kent, where we were able to experience contemporary forestry firsthand. We were kindly hosted by a ranger, whom Tobias was able to quiz about current attitudes towards conservation, planting, and deforestation to help inform the character of the doctor (a dedicated conservationist).

We learnt that on the continent, some planting maps from the 1800s are still being followed today. It was important for us to see the modern equivalent of the character’s views, and to realise that his long-term view and future-focus remain a constant in the conservation world: Rangers are always thinking a minimum of 20 years in advance—sometimes as many as 200—when assessing the impact of their decisions.

Tobias was really appreciative to have the opportunity to spend time amongst tall trees and take in their natural majesty. We got muddy, he chopped down a small tree (a conservation-friendly activity, as it happens), had a lesson in ancient forestry techniques and approaches, and returned with a deeper insight into how this character might operate in today’s environment.  

We had initially feared the doctor’s passion for conservation might be too specific to Russia in the late 19th-century, when forests were being clear-cut by local peasants. But with no prior knowledge of the play, the ranger we met articulated some of the character’s same beliefs and motivations for his own occupation. We left with a renewed appreciation for the contemporary resonance of Chekhov’s play, and Tobias’ newly-strengthened belief in the passion of his character’s speeches gave his performance an even firmer footing in reality when we returned to the rehearsal room.