Richard Armitage, Toby Jones to star in new adaptation of 'Uncle Vanya'

Oct. 19 (UPI) -- The Hobbit actor Richard Armitage, and Harry Potter veterans Toby Jones and Ciaran Hinds are set to star in Conor McPherson's new adaptation of Anton Chekhov's play, Uncle Vanya.

Directed by Ian Rickson, the cast will also include Rosalind Eleazar, Aimee Lou Wood, Anna Calder-Marshall, Dearbhla Molloy and Peter Wight, a press release said Friday.

"I can't think of a better way to start 2020," Armitage tweeted Saturday.

Preview performances are to begin on Jan. 14 at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End. Opening night is set for Jan. 23. The show is slated to run for 16 weeks.

"In the heat of summer, Sonya and her Uncle Vanya while away their days on a crumbling estate deep in the countryside, visited occasionally only by the local doctor Astrov," a synopsis said. "However, when Sonya's father Professor Serebryakov suddenly returns with his restless, alluring, new wife Yelena declaring his intention to sell the house, the polite facades crumble and long repressed feelings start to emerge with devastating consequences."