Review: Anna Karenina, Bristol Old Vic – ‘A gripping, fast-paced emotional rollercoaster’

The Japanese have a word – tsondoku – for our pile of books which have been purchased but remain unread (and may never been read). A lot of people’s tsondoku pile may well contains Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. After all, it is a classic. But it is also So Big.

Luckily, playwright Lesley Hart has come to the aid of those of us intimidated by Tolstoy’s mighty 900 page opus by producing a version of Anna Karenina which proclaims itself to be “Tolstoy’s masterpiece reimagined”.

Working with Russian-born British director Polina Kalinina, she has stripped the book back and given it a contemporary twist. The costumes and social milieu might be 19th century Russia, but the delivery feels very 21st century. Hart pulls of the same trick as TV drama The Great, creating a slice of Russian history with dialogue which is anachronistically yet believably slick and modern.

Lindsey Campbell as Anna Karenina

This is the story of Anna Karenina (Lindsey Campbell), devoted mother and bored wife of dull politician Andrei Karenin (Stephen McCole). When she encounters cavalry office Count Vronsky (Robert Akodoto), she tumbles into a passionate affair which shocks the salons of St Petersburg and ultimately ruins her. Subplots include the on-off romance between Kitty (Tallulah Greive) and Kostya (Ray Sesay) and the comic misadventures of Anna’s chronically philandering brother Stiva (Angus Miller).

It is understandable that in compressing such a big book, Hart has opted to make her characters pretty uni-dimensional. With the exception of Anna, each actor sticks to one note from beginning to end. They do it well – especially in Sesay’s innocent honesty and Miller’s sassy dissipation – but there is not a lot of richness or character development. The overall feel is more like a graphic novel than a great work of literature: pacy and sharp-edged, packing lots of narrative progress into each frame. In terms of the emotional colour palette, it’s very much primary colours – Mondrian not Monet.

Lindsey Campbell (Anna Karenina); Roy Sesay (Levin)

The one element of the story that does truly feel three-dimensional is the relationship between Anna and Vronsky. This is achieved partly through the choice not to make Vronsky an archetypical dashing cavalry officer. Akondoto’s Count is a bumbling young man who is simply utterly besotted with Anna, and she with him.

Her relationship with her son – the crucial factor which prevents her from simply running off into the sunset with her lover – is less well-presented. Her interactions with him lack believable warmth. There is more to expressing love for a child than simply calling him “my little prince” repeatedly and hugging him fiercely from time to time. And without that sense of maternal devotion, the entire rationale for the story can start to wobble.

Company, Anna Karenina

In terms of staging, this is a very modern production – a minimal set, lots of space, an almost continuous soundscape and a weird spiky sculpture dangling overhead which looks great in the production shots but is otherwise completely inexplicable. The design doesn’t entirely seem to have the courage of its convictions – if you’re doing stripped-down suggestion rather than full-blown realism, why bother with the frou-frou of a 19th century dinner table, or a fully-made bed? Trundling these little slabs of realism on and off stage also makes for some very long scene changes.

But while the stage design may occasionally raise some doubts, there is no question that the design of the script is truly inventive. Hart merges and interlocks scenes and dialogue so that characters can appear in two scenes at the same time, both describing and participating, and two narratives can take place simultaneously. This playing with time and space is both ingenious and pleasantly reminiscent of Sondheim musicals and Ayckbourn plays.

Stephen McCole (Karenin) and Lindsey Campbell (Anna Karenina)

And there are some lovely touches to Kalinina’s direction. The staging allows space for some beautiful widescreen images, like Anna in the snow. The merged scenes are almost choreographic in their blocking. And you will never have seen a horse race staged quite like this. It is truly one of those moments when live theatre shows its uniqueness with its ability to cajole the audience into suspending their disbelief.

For all its defects, Anna Karenina is nonetheless a gripping, fast-paced emotional rollercoaster which demonstrates some excellent stagecraft. And at just over two hours, it’s a much quicker way to enjoy the story without having to wear out your wrists holding Tolstoy’s mighty tome.

Anna Karenina – photo: Robbie McFadzean

Anna Karenina is at Bristol Old Vic on June 7-24 at 7.30pm, with additional 2.30pm matinee shows on Thursday and Saturday (no shows on Sunday). Tickets are available at www.bristololdvic.org.uk.

All photos: Robbie McFadzean

Read more: ‘Anna Karenina’ brings a heartbreaking tale of passion, truth and rebellion to Bristol Old Vic

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