There are several good reasons to come and see this new version of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, adapted by Joanna Murray-Smith. Not the least of them is Yalin Ozucelik’s lovely performance in the title role, one he wears like an old suit.

Yalin Ozucelik in Ensemble Theatre’s Uncle Vanya. Photo © Prudence Upton

Trapped in a job he hates on a run-down country estate, in love with Yelena (Chantelle Jamieson), a woman who will not reciprocate, Vanya spends his days fuming and drinking.

For release, he impotently rails against Yelena’s elderly, overbearing husband Serebryakov (David Lynch), a self-styled public intellectual who has been sucking up the proceeds of the estate for decades.

Luckily, he has a companion in misery: Astrov (Tim Walter), the once-dashing local doctor, now drinking his way toward oblivion while Serebryakov’s daughter Sonya (Abbey Morgan), who has adored Astrov him since she was in pigtails, vacillates between burst of hope and despair. Astrov, you see, only has eyes for Yelena.

Abbey Morgan and Chantelle Jamieson in Ensemble Theatre’s Uncle Vanya. Photo © Prudence Upton

Murray-Smith’s adaption (a tight two hours...