A unique cinematic experience, in collaboration with National Theatre Live, is presented by the Nicosia International Festival 2025. It is the cinematic version of the multi-award-winning theatrical production “Vanya.” The screening will take place in the framework of the Parallel Programme of the Nicosia International Festival 2025, on Sunday, October 5th, 2025, at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre (20:30).
Since 2009, National Theatre Live has brought more than 11.5 million viewers to cinemas, screening theatrical productions in over 2,500 venues across 65 countries.
Through live or recorded performances, it offers audiences around the world the experience of contemporary British theatre, bringing theatrical magic to the big screen with high aesthetics and emotional power.
The production “Vanya,” adapted by the award-winning playwright Simon Stephens and directed by Sam Yates, was presented with great success at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s West End in 2024, and is now screened exclusively in selected cinemas worldwide. The screening was filmed live during the sold-out performances.
What Simon Stephens said about Chekhov and Andrew Scott
“Chekhov was not a man of museums but of theatre. His plays need humour, eroticism, and the feeling of a world that is running out of money but still keeps falling in love. His plays must live in this century and this decade. You can tell that from the sparkle in his eyes.
Whether Chekhov would have enjoyed our approach to his wonderful play, we will never know. What I do know is that Chekhov loved theatre, he loved the audience and the playhouses. He loved the mad collaborations required to bring a play to life.
He loved the risk-taking of producers. He loved other writers – he encouraged them, supported them, and scolded them equally. He loved actors. I think he would have loved Andrew Scott, because he was undoubtedly a man of taste and intelligence,” extract from the “Vanya” programme at the Duke of York’s Theatre.
Andrew Scott in a riveting performance
The award-winning actor Andrew Scott (known from the series “Fleabag,” “Sherlock,” and the movie “All of Us Strangers”) embodies all the roles in the play, delivering a spell-bounding one-man version of “Uncle Vanya” by Anton Chekhov. It is a groundbreaking theatrical interpretation that has thrilled both audiences and critics and has been described internationally as “the performance of the year.”
With humour, passion, and sensitivity, Scott unfolds the existential anguish, romantic frustrations, and timeless dilemmas of Chekhov’s characters, in a profoundly human and minimalist reimagining of the classic play.
What the press said
International critics greeted the production with overwhelming enthusiasm:
“The performance of the year.” – iNews
“A masterclass in acting.” – Evening Standard
“Undeniably theatre at its very best.” – Broadway World
“Funny, sexy, and movingly human.” – The Independent
“Andrew Scott is magnetic.” – The Telegraph
Credits:
Performer & co-creator: Andrew Scott
Adaptation: Simon Stephens
Director: Sam Yates
Set design: Rosanna Vize
Music: Kelly Moran
Lighting design: James Farncombe
Sound: Dan Balfour
Video: Jack Phelan
Movement: Michela Meazza
Costumes: Natalie Pryce
Production: Wessex Grove, Gavin Kalin Productions, Kater Gordon
Broadcast: National Theatre Live
Screen director: Matthew Amos
Technical producer: Christopher C. Bretnall
Lighting director: David Bishop
Sound managers: Conrad Fletcher, Chris Kalcov
Text supervisors: Stephanie Rose, Laura Vine
Theatre: Duke of York’s theatre, London
Duration: 120΄
Ages: Suitable for all
Tickets:
Available online via more.com:
http://bit.ly/4grNxB8 and the Nicosia Municipal Theatre box office (Monday - Friday 10:00-13:00).
Ticket prices: €7
Reduced tickets are valid for: Children, students, soldiers, pensioners, large families, unemployed, actors, people with disabilities (free) with presentation of relevant ID.
Information: 22797979 (Monday - Friday 10:00-13:00) &
http://bit.ly/3VjZ0ZG
Festival identity
Organisers: Nicosia Municipality, Nicosia For Art
Festival sponsors: OPAP Cyprus, more.com, Italian Embassy, Cyprus Public Transport
Supporters: Travelhouse, UCLan Cyprus, WINECORE, Gate Twenty Two Boutique Hotel, Classic Hotel Nicosia
Media sponsors: DIAS Publishing & SIGMA TV, LOVE FM 100.7, and “KATHIMERINI” newspaper