Andrew Richardson, who plays Astrov, went on the Gaby Roslin show last Sunday to talk all things Uncle Vanya.
Andrew, who was previously nominated for an Evening Standard award for his role of Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls (Bridge Theatre), says “it’s genuinley a dream come true” to be working with Trevor Nunn.
Read the full transcript of their chat below or listen from 3:46:00 on BBC Sounds.
GABY ROSLIN: I’m smiling at you because I love the rich variety of stuff that you’ve done. I mean this is only the past few months.
ANDREW RICHARDSON: It’s very very fortunate and its certainly not indicative of the past, you know, many years. I mean it’s been 6 years of, you know, the pandemic and quiet and auditioning and all of a sudden, moving back to London it’s just been off to the races!
GABY: Oh, I’m so pleased for you! So, we’re going to go back to Sky Masterson in a moment, but let’s talk about Uncle Vanya. The Orange Tree Theatre – a great space. I love that place. Uncle Vanya, for people who don’t know the story, give them a sort of synopsis of it?
ANDREW: Well, the wonderful thing is, I think, everyone will walk away with a different idea of what it’s truly about. But essentially, you know, we’re in rural Russian in 1890 with a family that’s been running this estate for many years, kind of stuck in the mundane quality of their life until these characters arrive over the course of a few months and everything kind of builds up and lets loose. And I think for me, what it’s ultimately about is people’s endless quest to find hope in the face of whatever tragedy they’re going through or mental health they’re going through. But I think, you know, almost everyone I’ve talked to – it’s like this for a lot of Chekhov plays – I think you can go and walk away with something very very different, which is kind of the mastery of Chekhov’s writing, I think.
GABY: So for you, doing something like this, is this where- – when you were 13 and you went to Edinburgh Fringe – is this the sort of thing you thought you might be doing?
ANDREW: This was the dream.
GABY: Ah! There we go!
ANDREW: This was the dream. Yeah, this was the dream. And to work with Trevor Nunn – I can’t begin – I mean I remember as a kid I would watch Trevor Nunn teach Shakespeare – when he was back at the RSC he would do these videos where he’s discussing language and antithesis and all of a sudden here I am in rehearsal and he’s teaching me in person how to work with this language.
GABY: That must be extraordinary.
ANDREW: It’s genuinely a dream come true. It really is.
GABY: We’ve had a lot of wonderful people on the show today who say, “This has all been a bit ‘pinch me!’”
ANDREW: Yes!
GABY: Has it been a bit like that for you?
ANDREW: This whole year and a half has been “pinch me”. And I think, yeah to take on this role as well within this play is another “pinch me” moment. I mean, some of my biggest role models, I mean Laurence Olivier, Anthony Hopkins, Ian Holmes played this role. They all took on this mighty thing.
GABY: And it is mighty, let’s not forget.
ANDREW: It’s terrifying! It’s terrifying and thrilling and funny and sad. It has everything. And with Trevor Nunn at the helm, I mean, it feels a little bit like you’re a part of theatre history. He has this habit of turning everything into gold when he touches a classic work like this. And so, you know, I’d like to think we’re onto something.
GABY: I can feel the excitement across the desk. That’s so fantastic. If people want to get tickets, go to the orangetreetheatre.co.uk for tickets.
ANDREW: Yes.
GABY: So, as I said it’s running from the 2 March to the 13 April. I have a feeling that won’t just be it.
ANDREW: I’m curious. I don’t know. It’s selling out really quickly as well, which is just exciting because it’s such an intimate space – you know I was just saying to someone that it feels like the theatre was built for this play. I mean it’s an incredibly intimate world. So, to be so involved – it almost reminds me of Guys and Dolls, actually. It’s quite similar. It’s kind of that in the round and it’s very- dare I say that word “immersive”. Because it’s used so much.
GABY: Yea, people get slightly wary of it.
ANDREW: Yeah, but it’s the future of theatre, I think.
