By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN? Monday 24 August, opens 2 September and runs through 3 October 2026 RUNTIME: 140 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Sophie Okonedo (Medea, @SohoPlace) is the beating heart of this revival of Brian Friel’s (Dancing At Lughnasa, National) take on this very Chekhovian tale of an 1840s Russian landowner’s wife’s infatuation with her son’s young tutor.

• Read on for reasons including how Okonedo relishes the opportunity to be the emotional focus

Okonedo’s Natalya Patrovna is bored by her husband, welcomes the attentions of her best friend Rakitin, a devoted Alistair Petrie from Netflix’s Sex Education, but can’t help but be bowled over by the infectious enthusiasm of Patrick Gibson’s Belyayev.

Okonedo relishes the opportunity to be the emotional focus of the piece and her actions occasionally reminded us of Lesley Manville’s recent scheming Marquise de Merteuil in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the National.

For Natalya spots ward Vera’s burgeoning friendship with Belyayev and seizes the opportunity to trap her in an unsuitable marriage to an older yet rich neighbour.

None of this would be quite so compelling without the comic charms of Daniel Rigby (The Witches, National Theatre) and Amanda Wilkin (Bacchae, National Theatre) in delightful supporting roles.

It’s also a joy to see Susan Brown own the stage once more as the wise Anna Islayeva (pictured bottom left at the curtain above).

We last saw a version of this play in a much inferior Patrick Marber adaptation at the National called Three Days In The Country in 2015 which was very much the budget holiday version.

This A Month In The Country gives a real sense of how groundbreaking Turgenev was as his play was pre-Chekhov yet not staged until 1872, 20 years after it was written.

Originally titled The Student, it was written in France between 1848 and 1850 and 1st published in 1855 as Two Women.

It’s often described as an ensemble piece with little plot but Okonedo’s performance here takes it to the next level.

Her Natalya is so intrinsic that every conversation appears to be directed by her and even when she’s offstage Okonedo’s magnetism is still felt by those left on it.

• Main pictures via Facebook courtesy Donmar Warehouse Tickets
• Have you seen a Sophie Okonedo show before and what did you think of it? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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