A quiet, cluttered lecture room at Christ Church is about as far away from the Keble O’Reilly Theatre as one can get. But previews are not always the most glamorous of affairs. Into this room clamored a small and jovial troupe, headed by a tall, smiling, and energetic Felix Legge. Within minutes, the actors had set the stage as best they could and Legge was chuckling as he explained the plot and set the scene.
Legge – an undergraduate reading Russian – is the writer and director of Chekhov’s Baby who casted himself (‘controversially,’ although he never explains why) in a role. The play follows along similar thematic lines as his previous foray into writing/directing, The Aphorist, by exploring the pitfalls of ambition and blinded egos. Chekhov’s Baby, however, is a much more mature script. It is a comedy in two layers. The play follows the rehearsal process of an amateur production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya – a process replete with the physical comedy of horrible actors attempting to perform a nuanced and difficult script. At the same time, the play is a comedy of errors in the forms of ego-battles, misunderstandings, and downright sabotage.
The characters are well-written and well-acted. They are diverse and fleshed out: from the egotistical and impervious Neil (Jack Peters), who thinks he is God’s living gift to theatre-kind, to the conspiracy-theorist bad-boy Paul (Chris Wallwork), whose penchant for smoking has him convinced that mosquitoes, and vampires, are addicted to his blood. Legge cast himself metatheatrically as the Director (Mark), and the rest of the cast rounds out the troupe impressively (notably including the daft and baby-totting Nancy, played by Lauren Hyett).
The play explores the relationship of self-centered actors, their loves, and their love of themselves. It echoes, as one would expect, themes from Uncle Vanya, specifically the pitfalls of ambition, the misunderstandings of lovers, and over-reaction. Neil’s character, especially, recalls Chekhov’s characters – constantly ‘making his imaginary mountains out of molehills.’
The show is a must-see, even without a ‘student-production’ caveat. It runs Tuesday to Saturday of 7th week at 7:30pm in Keble’s O’Reilly Theatre.
