Vània at Teatre Romea, Barcelona Review
Written by Laura for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
Simon Stephens’ Vània has landed in Catalonia for a four-week residence at Teatre Romea in Barcelona.
In this adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, we follow Joel Joan as he goes through the events of the play alone, performing all eight characters. UK audiences will already be familiar with this format, as the production premiered in 2023, starring Andrew Scott as… well, everyone.
I had no doubt that Joel Joan would be able to carry this monumental task. He is a great actor, and there’s a magnetism to him that suits this role well. Moving seamlessly between the eight characters, he made sure each was clearly distinguishable not only through voice but through physicality and mannerisms. Personally, I particularly enjoyed his Alexandre and Miquel. Helena, perhaps, felt more inconsistent; at times, the portrayal felt a bit exaggerated, while it worked quite well at other times. There were a couple of small mishaps, but the show has only premiered this week, and it’s only him on stage for what is almost two hours, so I believe they are completely understandable and will be smoothed out soon enough.
Read more: Interview with Joel Joan, Vània
The audience (me included) needed a moment to adjust but quickly found their momentum, especially in the more comedic scenes. It is more obviously comedic than the 2023 version with Scott, in which sometimes you were unsure whether to laugh or not. Joan leans into the comedic elements without taking weight off the more dramatic and tragic moments.
The only thing I’m not quite convinced by is the text itself. Firstly, I’m not sure having one actor play these roles has much of a point aside from showcasing his incredible ability. There is something to be said about mirroring characters, particularly Sonia and Helena, or Ivan and Alexandre. However, the text doesn’t quite take advantage of having one actor embody them and explore that mirroring. Of course, that would require a looser adaptation rather than a largely scene-by-scene shortened adaptation, and the classics are always scary to modify too much.
Similarly, reducing everything in equal measure will inevitably make some characters more superficial, especially Helena and Sonia, as they were smaller roles to begin with. Perhaps Ivan and Miquel could have been reduced a bit more, so that Sonia and Helena could carry equal weight within the story. Saul and Marina could have been cut without affecting the plot, though that would also reduce the range of characters for the performer to play. There is also something a bit ironic about taking a play about workers’ rights and social dynamics and transforming it into an individualistic venture.
Ultimately, this play feels like an exercise. An acting exercise for Joan, who has had to learn how to navigate between characters and find their individual truths. And an exercise in suspension of disbelief for the audience, who must adapt to the “hyper-theatricality” that Joan and Valente have referenced in interviews: the idea of watching an actor transform into several people in real time, with no technical crutches to aid him, and playing into that illusion. Even the set appears half built, and somehow you manage to forget the visible stage lights and boxes that frame the space.
In the end, the most obvious questions this show is asking are “can the actor do it?” and “can the audience believe it?” and those are valid questions, however, I think Uncle Vanya has many other questions and themes that would have been more interesting to explore.
Joel Joan and his acting prowess were most certainly the highlight of this one-man Uncle Vanya, and any theatre enthusiast will enjoy such a feat. I’m, however, very eager to see the show with a full cast sometime in the future as well!
Vània will be playing at Teatre Romea until March 22nd before embarking on a tour around Catalonia.
★★★★
