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On a sparkling Sydney morning, it's not surprising that Andrew Upton is in a particularly sparkly, pixie-ish mood: eyes twinkling, light hair in a twirl about his head and much easy laughter as he considers his present life and work.
Upton's working with famed British director Howard Davies on a new adaptation of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard for the Sydney Theatre Company.
Later in 2006, he'll make his own STC debut as a director when he and wife Cate Blanchett (also a directorial debutante) stage one-act Mamet and Pinter plays, respectively.
Right now, however, he's bubbling over with Chekhov and the daily experience of rehearsal.
"I love the collaborative nature of theatre,'' Upton says during a lunch break at The Wharf. "It's such a great cast and Howard's a brilliant director, so I'm in my element. I'm learning a lot.''
Learning - be it the craft of adaptation, of writing in general or, soon, of directing - looms large in Upton's conversation.
"First of all, my main connection to it - adaptation, I mean - is educational. You get to work with significantly better writers than yourself. (Huge chuckle.) You get to have a wrestle with a great, great text.''
But why mess about with a 'classic' text? "Well, the point about all adaptation, which is probably a point about all productions of theatre, is that it's of its time.
"I'm sure if we were to see Peter Brook's Midsummer Nights Dream now, we'd go: (he rolls his eyes) 'How '70s.' "What I - we - hope to achieve is to do with what Howard talked a lot about: a conception of Chekhov that's languid, melancholy, gentle.''
Are they talking about the reverently gloomy style favoured by British theatah of the '60s and '70s?
"Yeah, and he's keen to work against that; not for the sake of it, but to find that ... much more energy where mood swings are volatile and the drama is enhanced - the humour is big, the tears are big and the emotions are quite raw.''
Will that shock people who like their Chekhov somnolent? "Surprise, I hope, not shock,'' says Upton.
"Pleasantly surprise. What I've found working on it is that it's like a piece of music with four distinct acts. Almost like short stories.''
As a playwright himself (Hanging Man) and with major adaptations to his credit (Cyrano de Bergerac, Don Juan and Hedda Gabler, the latter off to New York season), how does Upton rate Chekhov?
"You can't get better playwriting,'' he says. Upton began his working life in movie continuity and script editing, so he knows about craft.
"It's a particular kind of playwriting. It's not naturalism, it's more ... '' He squints and frowns to get the thoughts sorted and out. "It's expressionism, it's impressionism, it's right there at the hub of modernism. It's very distilled''.
The story of Cherry Orchard is both small and profound: the loss of home. It resounds universally.
Upton nods. "Chekhov has a way of cracking open your heart - and being really funny at the same time. You can safely say he's the master of laughing as your heart breaks.''
After this, Upton is hanging up his adapter's hat for a while.
Although Mr and Mrs Upton have a house at Brighton, on England's south coast, they're drawn inexorably homeward. "Especially when the boys start school properly,'' says Upton. "I think we'll want to be here.
"And we realised, when we came home for Hedda, that there's this wonderful community of artists here that we know and like. That means a lot.''
Upton's expansive gestures and grin take in the entirety of his surrounds. O lucky man!
© Nationwide News Pty Ltd.
Thanks to Liz for providing this article.
