Los Angeles theater company Riot Act presents Gross Old Man, a hyper-intimate and site-specific adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, at Crawlspace LA, a private artist loft in Downtown Los Angeles. The play was adapted by Whit Flint and directed by director Rory James Leech. It opens September 12 and runs through September 22. This limited series will admit only 25 audience members per night for only eight performances.
Based on Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, which has become a cornerstone of the world’s theatrical canon since its premiere in 1899, Gross Old Man updates Chekhov’s tragicomedy for a contemporary pulse, giving the story the same life and contemporary poignancy it had when it was first performed. The show’s description reads: “Within isolated four walls, a family wrestles with its paralyzed existence. Surrounded by the coma of loneliness and the atrophy of hope, a microscopic discovery reveals craggy inner fissures. Chekhov’s brutal exploration of the gasp of missed connections and the massacre of dreams among the unsuspecting and tormented – both a picture frame of raw human longing and a ghost story of what haunts you. A prescient, absurdist folk song to a changing world and the melodies of melancholy.”
Whit Flint, who wrote the adaptation and serves as artistic director of Riot Act, leads the cast as Johnny. He is joined by a mix of theater veterans and new faces, including Natalie Battistone as Sophie, Emily Hope Vazquez as Elena, Anthony Gaskins as Micheal, Janellen Steininger as Mama, Akul Dang as Waffles and John Atkins as Alex. Rory James Leech, whose credits include Fear of Kathy Acker and FAUSTPILLED, directs and designs the production. He is joined on the creative team by stage manager Heather Friedman and dramaturg Hailey Mashburn. The production is presented in association with Crawlspace LA, Missile Studios and Misfit Toys Collective.
Riot Act, founded in East London in 2015 by Whit Flint, is familiar with Chekhov – in fact, Flint considers Chekhov a cornerstone of Riot Act’s mission. During the company’s formative days in East London, Flint adapted and directed adaptations of The Seagull, Ivanov and Three Sisters, which were renamed Dirty Bird, Poor Bastard and Mopey Wrecks. When Riot Act found its new home in Los Angeles in 2022, its first Los Angeles season began with Bad Person, an adaptation of Chekhov’s early and often forgotten Platonov. Subsequent LA performances include Blindness and the Periphery of Sight, a contemporary take on Oedipus, and Science Fiction, a cosmic love story and revenge piece, each presented on an intimate and immediate scale. Riot Act’s other work includes adaptations of Shakespeare and Ibsen, contemporary premieres of works by Annie Baker, and world premieres of plays written by Flint.
“Chekhov’s voice is profound and prophetic – his plays have a psychological and dramatic flash at their core,” says director Leech. “We are in an epidemic of loneliness – and Chekhov’s work finds our innate melancholy and contradictions and gives voice to what we bury. Inviting audiences into this home and letting them find themselves in the woods is incredibly exciting and unlike any other theater in LA right now.”
Tickets are now available through TixTree. Prices range from $25 to $30, underscoring Riot Acts’ commitment to equal and barrier-free access to the theater. The venue address will be sent to visitors directly when purchasing a ticket. Performances will take place from September 12th to 22nd, Thursday through Sunday at 8 p.m.
Comments
To post a comment, you must register And Login.
