Uncle Vanya, night one

On By EstherIn At the theatre, Richard Armitage, Travels

Lots to post but can’t type well on my phone, so longer update will follow when I get home again in a few days and am back at my laptop. This past evening I met up with Hariclea to see Uncle Vanya in London’s West End together and it was good! Toby Jones is such a great Vanya and I couldn’t take my eyes off Richard Armitage as Dr Astrov.

Quick pic I took at the end of the play:

We had great seats, 4th row with excellent close up views of Richard. After the play we went straight out to the stage door, Ciaran Hinds was the first one out. He came across as gentle and softspoken. I complimented him on his performance and we had a lovely, short, smiley exchange. Alas the pic where we exchanged smiles is a blur but it was a lovely moment.

Richard came out next. He was quick as lightening, kept his head down, didn’t say much but graciously signed what he was given. I also complimented him and as he moved on he threw me a quick half glance with a smile and thank you. In the 4th pic below he’s signing my poster.

And Toby Jones was the absolute sweetest. He took a little more time, smiled and thanked for compliments and very patiently and graciously posed for photos. I cut off the lovely Cindy who stood there with us but she was in these too.

Pics were not from my best angle but nonetheless I am very grateful for them. Thank you so much Hariclea for taking them! 😘

I’m pleased with the end result of my signed poster. Should’ve used a light marker but it’s still good with all the black signatures too.

Off to bed now. More to follow at a later time.

Edit: Apparently when you publish from your phone, comments are automatically switched off. They’re switched on now…

50 thoughts on “Uncle Vanya, night one”

  1. Aw, Esther, thank you for taking the time to give us an immediate quick reaction – and photos!!!! That poster looks great with all the signatures. And so good to know that both CH and TJ took a bit of time to chat. I won’t make the mistake again and leave the SD without waiting for them. Also, glad to hear you had fun with Hari! Keep enjoying your stay!

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  2. awww, what a blurr it was LOL Sorry for the wind which partially froze my fingies and i couldn’t tap on the photos quickly enough as they were moving along. But at least the moments got captured 🙂 The lady and gents were all super friendly and soft spoken and took their time in spite of the windy cold night. Special mention to the extra nice security guard who explain to everyone how it works and where best to stand and all of that 🙂 Peter Wright was also very nice, sorry i got chatting and didn’t realise i forgot to take pics! Play has definitely settled in and everyone is more alive in their roles, it’s both more darkly funny and intensely sad.

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    1. squirrel.0072

      🙂 Esther you are a gemstone to take time to send that yesterday night. Great report. I am waiting for the next one. Have a great flight way back home! With lot of Laughs and Souvenirs in mind.

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  5. Ahh Esther good that you got his signature when you did! He was bad boy on Wed night but we had a blast walking around Convent Garden with you and Squirrel and our pie and mash lunch on Wed. Thank you again for a magical dinner and Stage Door experience on Tuesday! You are such a delight!! 😘❤️

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    2. It really was fun meeting you. 🙂
      Such a pity that he skipped the stage door on your second night! I am lucky that I have previous Richard-encounters to look back on, especially the experience in Newcastle two years ago, which was a fan’s dream. So, for me, anything after that is a bonus.

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      1. Esther yup I know we were lucky with Tuesday night. I reread your Newcastle post the other day trying to de sulk until his assinine tweet on the vodka on Friday night grrrr 😫😳😢😉

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  6. Owlet

    Thanks for sharing, I love the photos.
    Out of curiosity, where did you get the poster? I didn’t think there were any for sale at the theatre, but I only looked and didn’t specifically ask.

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    1. It was my pleasure to share. 🙂
      The poster was available at the counters in the lobby, it said so on a sign. I think they maybe were not available yet at the very beginning of the run as I have heard others say they hadn’t seen them there either.

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      1. Servetus

        What I said wasn’t meant as a backhanded criticism of anyone else’s SD behavior (or lack thereof). It was meant as straight appreciation of Hinds and nothing more. #comparisonsareodious

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        2. Each actor has their own way of doing things, the difference in style is always interesting to see. The common denominator, no matter how brief or ‘long’ the interaction, were the smiles of each actor – they all smiled and even in passing, to me, they seemed grateful.

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            1. He did smile, and right at you to when you handed him the gift bag! But maybe you were looking down? And if you look at the pics you can actually see wide smiles as he signs, although he is mostly looking down. 🙂

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              1. Esther aww thank you for saying that he smiled! I was sooo nervous and so focused on that gift bag when he came I couldn’t drink him in at all. I felt a wall around he and I just saw blurry vision of a cap and hands
                I will treasure those pics you sent me !!😘❤️❤️❤️

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          1. squirrel.0072

            I recognised his smiles and words as very similar, virtually identical to Wraith beaming technology sending me back to my native country.
            No signature, no selfie for me I was just trying to take a picture of all of you. and my accent betrayed me.
            The worst OF THE STORY is that I missed your SD’s photo.

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            1. Anne noooo not the worst we had a blast with you there and I loved turning around and there you were ! Ciaran speaking French with you was fabulous!! Just a splendid evening! Thank you for sharing your warmth grace and humor 😘❤️🤗

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