A fast paced and cleverly constructed retelling of the essentials of Tolstoy's classic. Love, passion and existential angst in a crushingly patriarchal society. The story concentrates on the central relationships - Ann and Vronsky, Levin and Kitty, Stiva and Dolly, and Karenin the outsider, plus the powerful tug of Anna's love for her son Seryozha. To the fore are the three women, all trying to work within the fine boundaries that society places them within, and frustrated to be so confined by the double standards im posed on them.
What is better? To play it safe, even if unhappiness results, or to take risks that can lead to joy or disaster? How to interpret the meanings of others, or to get your own point across without being direct? Love and passion, hate and loathing all mixed into a swirl of well choreographed activity.
Strong performances, notably from Angus Miller as Stiva, who least serious of the characters who flies by the seat of his pants and struggles on from scrape to scrape. And a set that provides a slow build up in a sense of doom, as Anna's life collapses around her.
It's a clever production, perhaps too clever at times, but the interest never flags and there's no confusion, evben when conversations interlink. Initially the more modern language, especially the swearing, jars a littrle with the historical context, but soon blends into the action, a reflection of the timelessness of Tolstoy's creations. Their concerns are still very much our concerns, and that is the most fascinating aspect of an entertaining two hours.
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