"Uncle Varick" Review by Max and Desne

Quite why he had brought out a chainsaw was unclear. It soon transpired however that rage at his dishonest brother-in-law had caused him to finally snap and turn Uncle Varick homicidal. This type of scene was typical of the play “Uncle Varick” which the new and old Advanced Higher English classes saw in Eden Court on Tuesday 3rd of June. The play was a scottish adaptation of Anton Chekov's "Uncle Vania" which the Advanced higher english class is studying. A particular highlight of the production was the set: a broken picture frame surrounded the whole set. This reflected the character Alexander’s career as an art critic, and how Varick’s faith in this was broken when it was revealed all his criticisms were stolen from others. Live music was used throughout to great effect. Live guitar playing and the singing of sixties songs established a rather plaintive and morose mood as well as highlighting the period in which Mull Theatre had chosen to set this production. “Komorebi” is a Japanese word which describes light which filters through leaves, and this type of light was captured perfectly through the use of gauze at the back of the stage. This was important in reflecting the Doctor’s love of trees. It was this trait; a desire to protect the nature of the highlands, which attracted Shona’s attention. The actress’s performance of this complete infatuation with the doctor was incidentally a very moving one. There was no member of the cast who we could describe as giving an insensitive performance, although we must admit there a few Scottish accents that while realistic were a little difficult to digest. The acting of the character of Uncle Varick was a particular highlight due to his, quite frankly, astounding character development. He began the play as a character that was strong and outspoken, and by the end was deflated and broken, no longer able to keep a handle on his own mind or the things happening around him which caused him much dismay. A strength of the production was that it was able to juxtapose comedy and tragedy in scenes so as the audience felt guilty for laughing at what were clearly horrific events. This certainly left these Ambassadors with a few moral questions! A fun and insightful production overall. By Max and Desne Smallburger. (a.k.a your ambassadors)