Anna Karenina is showing at Bristol Old Vic from next week

Anna Karenina is showing at Bristol Old Vic from next week

Posted on: 01 Jun 2023

This critically acclaimed retelling of Leo Tolstoy’s literary masterpiece opens at the UK’s longest continually running theatre next Wednesday.

 

Anna Karenina runs at Bristol Old Vic between Wednesday 7 and Saturday 24 June 2023.

 

Reimagined by renowned director Polina Kalinina and bold playwright Lesley Hart, this brave production of a classic, heartbreaking tale of love, marriage and betrayal brings the language up to date while taking audiences on a blistering journey that places no limits on opulence, decadence and passion.

 

Tickets for the show can be found HERE.

 

 

When the details of Anna Karenina’s brother’s scandalous affair are made public, she must journey across Imperial Russia by train to save his marriage. However, when she arrives at the station, a romantically charged encounter with a dashing cavalry officer drastically changes Anna’s fortunes, sending her down a road that destroy her marriage and life.

 

However, rejected by his beloved, the handsome soldier Kostya Levin has vowed to never marry, meaning that just as Anna opens herself up to love, Kostya is trying to block it out. Linked by an unspeakable bond, Anna and Kostya are torn between duty and desire, parental and sexual love, self and society – with dramatic consequences.

 

In a dastardly world of cover-ups, public shaming, and family oppression, these two unlikely lovers are compelled to live in the open – or not at all. This legendary tale is sure to bring a tear to the eye of theatre lovers all over Bristol and allow a whole new generation to fall in love with this classic tale

 

Presented by Bristol Old Vic and Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, written Lesley Hart and directed Polina Kalinina, whose Paapa Essiedu starring Romeo and Juliet at Tobacco Factory won rave reviews back in 2015, this is sure to be one of Bristol’s theatrical highlights of 2023. 

 

The cast sees Lindsey Campbell take the role of Anna, Robert Akodoto as Vronsky, Stephen McCole as Karenin, Angus Miller as Stiva, Jamie Marie Leary as Dolly, Rat Sesay as Levin and Tallulah Grieve as Kitty. See the video below for a deeper understanding of these beautifully constructed characters… 

 

 

Anna Karenina runs at Bristol Old Vic between Wednesday 7 and Saturday 24 June 2023, secure your tickets HERE.

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Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.