Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike by Christopher Durang.
Directed by Steph Evans. Assistant
director Gabrielle Purcell. Set design Chris Baldock. Lighting design. Rhiley Winnett
and Steph Evans. Sound design Gabrielle Purcell. Costumes and Props Chris Baldock,
Steph Evans and the Cast. Photography
Zac Bridgman. The Studio, Mockingbird Theatre Company. Belconnen Arts Centre,
May 15-23 2026. Bookings: belcoarts.com.au
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| Tracy Noble as Sonia. Chris Baldock as Vanya in Christopher Durang's Vanya & Sonia & Masha &Spike |
If laughter is the best medicine then Mockingbird Theatre Company’s production of Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike by Christopher Durang offers a healthy remedy. But peel back the layers of mirth and you will find Chekov’s inspiration exposed. Vulnerability, longing, futility, loss and regret are wrapped in veils of laughter. Durang has drawn on Chekov’s characters and plots to paint a portrait of the American way, framed in the circumstances of The Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya and The Seagull. Bipolar Sonia (Tracy Noble) and gay Vanya (Christopher Baldock) live in the deceased parents’ house in Pennsylvania. They live out their empty lives after having cared for their parents throughout their later years. Their sister Masha (Helen McFarlane) is a famous actress of the silver screen, self-absorbed, wealthy and with toy boy Spike (Darcy Worthy) in tow. She has returned to the family home to attend a party at the nearby home that once belonged to the whiplash-tongued Dorothy Parker and reveal her plan to sell the family home. Audience members familiar with Chekov’s plays and characters will enjoy Durang’s references, cleverly enveloped in sitcom humour. Next door neighbor, aspiring actress Nina (played with enchanting innocence by Lily Welling) plays the heroine, a molecule in the age of global warming, in Vanya’s absurdist play along the lines of Constantin’s didactic experiment in The Seagull. India Kazakoff completes the casting as the psychic and eccentric house cleaner Cassandra, cursed like her mythical namesake with the gift of prophetic visions.
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| Helen McFarlane as Masha |
Directed by Steph Evans, Mockingbird Theatre Company’s production of Durang’s Tony Award comedy is brilliantly cast with three of Canberra’s finest performers in the sibling roles of Sonia, Vanya and Masha and three emerging and highly promising younger actors playing the roles of Spike, Cassandra and Nina. This creates a beautifully balanced ensemble with each actor assuming an idiosyncratic identity. Noble evokes sympathy with her doleful basset hound expression. Frustration burst forth as she hurls coffee cups that shatter on the living room floor. There is the insecure and frightened telephone conversation with a prospective and unexpected suitor. Baldock gives a sterling performance as Vanya, burdened with insecurity and delivering a passionate grievance at the loss of the past. Baldock returns to the stage with a tirade at the young and arrogant Spike that affirms his place as an actor with a commanding stage presence. McFarlane’s Masha is a mockery of the celebrated star, demanding attention and commanding authority until insecurity surfaces to confront honesty. These performances embody Chekov’s power of introspection and Durang’s gift of hilarious comedy with a sting.
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| Lily Welling as Nina |
Welling, Worthy and Kazakoff have been ideally cast by Evans to contrast with the older characters. Welling, whom I predict could be destined for a bright future in the profession, is the perfect ingenue and capable of playing Chekov’s Nina in The Seagull. She exudes the quality of infatuation In Durang’s interpretation of the character. Worthy’s Spike is physically perfect for the role of Masha’s young lover, convinced of his sexual appeal and adolescent in his arrogance. Kazakoff’s costuming depicts the image of an East European peasant woman with the powers to predict the future. Durang has written her as a lampoonery of earnest prophets of doom. It is a role that one might assume would be played by an older woman but Kazakoff makes it her own and revels in Cassandra’s idiosyncrasy.
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| India Kazakoff as Cassandra |
At 150 minutes with a fifteen-minute interval, Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike is longer than most but it is played with such relish and authenticity that the time passes quickly, interrupted only by the audience’s laughter and engagement with Durang’s insightful comedy and the actors' enjoyable performances. Would Chekov have approved? It would most likely depend on his sense of humour. Durang’s appropriation is not Chekov but one senses a reverence for Chekov’s affectionate depiction of human nature. And with that in mind, Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike is a thoroughly entertaining evening of clever action, tight direction and first-rate performances. Even this reviewer had a good laugh and left the theatre that offered two saving graces in these troubled times, hope and a happy ending.
