Starring Toby Jones and Richard Armitage
Marrying the intimacy of the screen with the electricity of live theater, Great Performances: Uncle Vanya premieres nationwide Friday, May 7 at 9 p.m. on PBS, pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app. Tony Award nominee Conor
Toby Jones and Richard Armitage in Uncle Vanya.
McPherson breathes new life into Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece with his acclaimed adaptation of the drama, portraying life at the turn of the 20th century filled with tumultuous frustration, dark humor and hidden passions. Recorded in August 2020 from the Harold Pinter Theatre in London after the production’s sold-out run closed early due to the coronavirus pandemic, the play is directed by Ian Rickson and directed for screen by Ross MacGibbon. Starring Toby Jones in the title role and Richard Armitage as Astrov, the cast also features Rosalind Eleazar as Yelena, Aimee Lou Wood as Sonya, Anna Calder Marshall as Nana, Dearbhla Molloy as Mariya, Roger Allam as Serebryakov and
Whatâs on TV This Week: âAmy Tan â Unintended Memoirâ and âVax Liveâ
PBSâs âAmerican Mastersâ airs a new documentary about the author Amy Tan. And Jennifer Lopez, the Foo Fighters and more perform at a benefit concert.
Amy Tan in the “American Masters” documentary “Amy Tan Unintended Memoir.”Credit.KPJR Films
May 3, 2021, 1:00 a.m. ET
Between network, cable and streaming, the modern television landscape is a vast one. Here are some of the shows, specials and movies coming to TV this week, May 3-9. Details and times are subject to change.
Monday
AMERICAN MASTERS: AMY TAN â UNINTENDED MEMOIR
I realise I don’t read for pleasure, just as I don’t often eat for pleasure. It’s a necessity. Yet I find rare pleasure and peace in reading, like running. It’s the place where your mind stills the outside world, then rediscovers it in a place where its parts, even if disordered, can make more sense.
It’s a place where it’s quiet enough to think again.
I read for meaning. It’s part of a search, a never-ending quest to accumulate and appropriate other people’s insights and experiences and to try and deploy their better knowledge and words in actions that can move people to get off their arses and change the world. My friend says I don’t read for retention, and that’s probably true. Characters’ names, even plots, quickly dissolve as life moves on.
Bookings open for the RE:EMERGE Season at the Harold Pinter Theatre
April 15, 2021 Last updated:
April 15, 2021
Sonia Friedman Productions announces the dates for the RE:EMERGE season as priority booking opens on 15 April at 10.30am, with public booking opening 16 April at 10am. Amy Berryman’s Walden opens the season, with previews from 22 May, and running until 12 June; Yasmin Joseph’s J’Ouvert previews from 16 June, and runs until 3 July; and completing the season, Joseph Charlton’s Anna X previews from 10 July, and runs until 4 August. The season will observe the UK government social distancing guidelines for audiences at the time of performance, making adjustments where safe and appropriate to seating and capacity in line with current advice.
Last modified on Wed 17 Mar 2021 05.08 EDT
Rosalind Eleazar remembers lying in bed after leaving drama school and feeling depressed that the phone hadn’t rung. She was 27 when she graduated, having gone to university and tried her hand at other careers. “It was a month after leaving Lamda and I just plummeted. I remember thinking, ‘This is going to be the most excruciating career change.’”
Eleazar couldn’t have been more wrong. She was still under the bedsheets when she had a call and was offered a part opposite Monica Dolan in Plaques and Tangles at the Royal Court, London.