An authentically Russian experience!

Uncle Vanya is one of Chekhov's most acclaimed plays, dealing with frustrated hopes and what might be called the "wasted life"; each character is desperately unhappy, and like Tolstoy's unhappy families, are so in their own way. Prolific playwright Anton Checkhov's classic tragicomedy about wistfulness, unrequited love and wasted lives in provincial Russia is entirely in Russian (with English surtitles) by the acclaimed Vakhtangov State Academic Theater, this production was sold-out when it ewas recently staged in London, and marks a welcome return to the New York Center for 2017.

The production's theme of despair, often recurring in Chekhov's works, is artfully handled; there is a delicate juxtaposition between deep misery and dark humour that elicits sympathy and empathy from the audience. An imposing set design of samovars and dark wood reflects the characters struggles with the pain of love, setting the tone of what proves to be a melancholic yet bittersweet production.