Digital Theatre+ partners with producers to stream award-winning Uncle Vanya
Hattie Fisk
Friday, November 26, 2021
The recording of the sell-out stage production went on to win the Theatre Award at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2021.
Global educational platform Digital Theatre+ is now streaming Conor McPherson’s adaptation of Checkov’s Uncle Vanya, in partnership with producers Sonia Friedman Productions.
The recorded stage production was commissioned in the first lockdown by Sonia Friedman Productions and Angelica Films, in association with BBC Arts.
The film is available alongside a suite of educational resources for schools, universities and educational institutions across the world. There are resource packs available for each recorded production, including biographies, documentaries, essays, lectures, workshops, study guides, and interviews alongside other learning aids.
The production is directed by Olivier Award-nominated Ian Rickson, featuring Toby Jones, Richard Armitage, Rosalind Eleazar, Aimee Lou Wood, Anna Calder-Marshall, Dearbhla Molloy, Peter Wight and Roger Allam.
Sonia Friedman said: ‘One of the most important roles of a producer is to develop audiences of the future and to do everything possible to make theatre accessible for all. It’s a responsibility we take very seriously at Sonia Friedman Productions, and something we seek to promote across all our work. As such, we’re thrilled to partner with Digital Theatre Plus to make our award-winning production of Uncle Vanya available to students across the UK.’
In the empty Harold Pinter Theatre in July 2020, we were the first company to reunite to create and commit work to film. The production lost none of its beauty and power on screen, with Ross MacGibbon’s screen direction enabling Ian’s and my vision so perfectly. It was such a moment of hope in a very bleak time for the theatre industry, and I believe set a new standard for filmed theatre.'
Ian Rickson, director of the celebrated work said ‘I am delighted that Digital Theatre are able to share Uncle Vanya on its education platform. It's one of the great plays, which speaks to every generation in a deeply profound way. Its concerns about inheritance, equality and the environment feel so contemporary, and the performances are richly alive.’
Neelay Patel, CEO of Digital Theatre+ said ‘We are delighted that Digital Theatre will provide access to this powerful new adaptation of Uncle Vanya to students around the world. Chekhov is a key playwright on many global curricula, and Conor McPherson's adaptation of this seminal play will be an important addition to our educational platform.’
