I had the chance to see Uncle Vanya at the CAA Theatre in Toronto last month and I was not disappointed. What initially drew me to the performance was Tom Rooney as Uncle Vanya. He was spectacular as usual; he always brings such energy to the stage whenever I’ve seen him in Saskatchewan or in Stratford. I was also delighted to find that I knew three of the other actors as well. Eric Peterson of Corner Gas and Street Legal fame plays Alexandre – his grumpy old man to perfection. Shannon Taylor plays Yelena, Alexandre’s much younger wife. I had recently seen her perform in King Lear at the Stratford Festival as his daughter Goneril. Bahia Watson plays Sonya, Alexandre’s daughter. I knew I recognized her from somewhere but couldn’t place her until I read the bios – she was in The Handmaid’s Tale as Brianna/Oferic, one of the handmaids. The rest of the cast were also stellar.
The stage was very well set as a decaying old mansion with weeds growing up through the floorboards. I think they had made the stage bigger to accommodate the play as we had seats in row 6 but it was actually the second row. It is a nice little theatre on Yonge Street almost as far north as Bloor Street. A great play to see in a smaller venue.
