Vanya, starring Andrew Scott, takes over £1 million at UK and Ireland box office during National Theatre Live release

Vanya, the solo adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya starring Andrew Scott, has taken over £1 million at the UK and Ireland box office during its National Theatre Live cinema release.

Simon Stephen’s version of the classic text opened last autumn at the Duke of York’s Theatre, directed by Sam Yates with design by Rosanna Vize. All four are credited as co-creators in the piece, while the creative team also includes lighting designer James Farncombe, sound designer Dan Balfour, video designer Jack Phelan, movement director Michela Meazza, costume designer Natalie Pryce, associate designer Blythe Brett and assistant director Francesca Hsieh.

The piece won the Best Play Revival award at the 24th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards earlier this month. Its filmed version premiered in 737 venues across UK and Ireland on Thursday 22 February – the widest release for National Theatre Live since the initiative began in 2009, when it took over £768,872 in a single night. By the end of the weekend, that tally had risen to over £1 million – the largest amount since Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer was played in cinemas.

The piece saw Scott take on all the roles in the piece across a 105-minute runtime, and was heralded as “a revelation” by WhatsOnStage’s Sarah Crompton.

Scott was also nominated at the WhatsOnStage Awards for his turn in the show, having previously won the award for Best Actor in a Play for Present Laughter in 2020. Watch the actor’s special message from the awards here:

You can see our coverage of the production’s opening night here: