Uncle Vanya, Vaudeville Theatre, Seven magazine review It is part of the deal of being alive, however, that we mustn't let it show, at least not too much, or for too long. Death, disease and disappointment we all have to come to terms with, after all, and there is little to be gained by droning on about them. One man who never appeared to sign up to that view was Anton Chekhov. Pain is openly on parade in all of the Russian playwright's works and never more so than in Uncle Vanya. Good for Lindsay Posner, the director of this pitch-perfect production, for not choosing a big-star name to play the title role, but a proper, solid stage actor in Ken Stott. He specialises in lugubrious characters - most notably, Tony Hancock in BBC Four's Hancock & Joan - and there's a lot of that doomed comedian in his Vanya. Vanya has the thankless task of running the estate of his brother-in-law, Serebryakov, an ageing, pompous professor who's played with aplomb by Paul Freeman. He comes visiting with his glamorous second wife, Yelena (Anna Friel, deftly communicating claustrophobia and sexual frustration), and feelings of hatred and despair soon consume the house when the old boy thoughtlessly talks of disposing of his asset. In the play's dramatic high point, Vanya shoots Serebryakov and misses. Tragic but also funny, it is a scene that is as Hancockian as it is Chekhovian in Stott's capable hands. He is a member of a fine ensemble: Samuel West seems to stink of alcohol, as the disillusioned local quack who has a soft spot for Yelena, and Anna Carteret gives a performance of quiet dignity as Vanya's old mother. The acting honours go, however, to Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey's Lady Edith) as Sonya, Vanya's plain niece. One can almost hear the sound of tears in this wily young actress's voice as she tries, against all odds, to keep herself and her family on the right side of madness. If you are into depressing plays, this production is, paradoxically, an unalloyed joy. To 16 Feb; www.unclevanyatheplay.com