PAPER MOUTH THEATRE REIMAGINES CHEKHOV FOR THE ATTENTION ECONOMY IN STATE THEATRE COMPANY’S NEW SPARK PROGRAM
What begins as a faithful staging of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya slowly mutates into a theatrical battle for the audience’s attention in Paper Mouth Theatre’s Uncle Vanya – But There’s ASMR Soap-Cutting Videos Playing In The Bottom Right Corner.
Combining Chekhov’s original text with live ASMR soap-cutting, gameplay footage, TikTok choreography, embedded audio description, papier-mâché, and a pro-wrestling smackdown, this reimagining of the tragicomedy is the first in State Theatre Company South Australia’s new SPARK program that makes space for the new wave of independent theatre in South Australia.
Devised by a team of local actors and creatives, this production is neither an adaptation nor a parody of Chekhov, but a theatrical experiment that asks what happens when one of theatre’s great naturalistic dramas is experienced through the fragmented conditions of modern attention. At once indulgent and analytical, Uncle Vanya – But There’s ASMR Soap-Cutting Videos Playing In The Bottom Right Corner invites audiences to hold two contradictory impulses at the same time: the pleasure of distraction and the desire for deeper attention. Rather than choosing between spectacle and critique, it attempts to stage both simultaneously.
Writer/director Mary Angley first conceived the project while reading Uncle Vanya alone in a rural cottage with no Wi-Fi and limited mobile reception:
“I was struck by how funny and emotionally devastating the play actually is. I then became obsessed with the question of what it would take to hold a contemporary audience inside a four-act Chekhovian slow burn. The project is an attempt to stage the tension between Chekhov’s demands on our attention and the conditions under which we now consume content.”
Uncle Vanya – But There’s ASMR Soap-Cutting Videos Playing In The Bottom Right Corner is the first production to be presented as part of the SPARK program, a new initiative from State Theatre Company South Australia designed to support independent South Australian theatre-makers. Through a combination of mentoring, rehearsal and performance space, and access to State Theatre Company’s costume and set construction departments, the program aims to bridge the gap between independent and mainstage practice.
Six new productions will be nurtured through the SPARK program over 2026-2029, giving South Australian artists the freedom to focus on creating fearless theatre that engages and inspires audiences.
Artistic Director Petra Kalive says:
“SPARK is all about igniting the future of theatre in this state and I think Mary and her team are theatremakers of the future. They are radical, brilliant and absolutely electrifying. If you want your mind blown by the next generation reshaping Australian theatre, don’t miss this.”
Founded in Adelaide, Paper Mouth Theatre creates work in response to contemporary myths and rituals. Walking a taut line between theatre and live art, the company picks, scratches, and gnaws at the literary canon through formally inventive, collaborative performance. Its productions have toured national and international Fringe Festivals, earning multiple touring awards and critical acclaim. Previous work has been described as “fearless, funny and true” (The Age) and “a masterclass in that sweet classic brand of ironic v. sincere humour” (Australian Theatre for Young People).
SHOW DETAILS Opening Night: 7:30pm, 11 Jul 2026 Season: 9 Jul – 18 Jul 2026
Venue: Adelaide College of the Arts, Main Theatre
Runtime: 95 minutes, no interval
WEB LISTING: www.statetheatrecompany.com.au/shows/uncle-vanya/
CONTENT: Simulated gunshots; stylised fight scenes; references to suicide; alcohol; mild, opt-in audience participation; ASMR sounds (amplified whispering, crunching, slicing); densely layered audio and visual material; existential themes; haze; a bright flash of light.
