Matthew Kelly joins John Hannah at Uncle Vanya opening

Uncle Vanya opened at the St James Theatre last night. The cast and crew were joined by a host of familiar faces, including Matthew Kelly, Sheila Reid, Harry Haddon-Paton and Patricia Hodge.

The production, directed but Russell Bolam, stars John Hannah in the title role, with Amanda Hale as Sonya and Rebecca Night as Yelena. The cast also includes Buffy Davis (Maria), Alan Francis (Telygin), Jack Shepherd (Serebryakov), Joe Dixon (Astrov) and Amanda Boxer (Marina).

Set on a crumbling country estate, Uncle Vanya, which is newly adapted from Chekhov by Anya Reiss, is the tale of two obsessive love affairs that lead nowhere, and a flirtation that brings disaster.

It continues until 8 November as part of the One Stage season for emerging commercial producers.