Vanya, Duke of York’s Theatre, review: Andrew Scott’s take on Chekhov is funny, sexy and surprisingly emotional

I had doubts about whether even a towering acting talent like Andrew Scott could make a one-man version of Uncle Vanya feel like more than a gimmick. He’s devoted himself to the service of superannuated wunderkind Alexander, managing his country estate while this supposed genius lives a smart life in town with his infuriatingly beautiful young wife Helena. open image in gallery The story of rural desolation is shifted from turn-of-the-century Russia to 20th-century Ireland It could so easily feel tricksy, but Scott’s performance has a raw intensity that ignites this ingenious staging. The love triangle between Helena, Sonia and Doctor Michael burns as bright as a firelighter – and if Scott’s rendition of Helena and Michael’s illicit coupling isn’t the West End’s first ever one-man sex scene, it must be its sexiest, his body starfished against a door, his limbs seeming to multiply as he evokes two people’s guilty ecstasy. The quieter, more desolate moments of Vanya don’t always have the crushing emotional impact you’d get in more traditional Chekhov productions – that sense of utter loneliness in a forest of equally discontented fellow travellers.