Uncle Vanya – Scenes From Country Life, is considered one of Anton Chekhov’s most revered plays. This is a story of a family estate, which under the supervision of Uncle Vanya and his niece Sonya, provide financially for the family both at home and in Moscow. Crisis comes to a head when Serebryakov, Vanya’s brother-in-law who he has supported since the death of his beloved sister Vera, and his beautiful young wife Yelena decide to come and live in the country estate when Serebryakov’s health and career are failing him.

This is a powerful, sensitive play and through its acute structure of concealment and disclosure, allows us to investigate its characters and to see their deepest secrets. It is a work of genius as it makes us laugh and cry and question and reflect on a society which very soon will no longer exist in Russia. A play about a gradual loss of illusions with modern themes of climate change, deforestation – a world in which injustice is rewarded and celebrated, and the good and honourable and honest cast aside.

Chekhov was a playwright way ahead of his time, recording life exactly as it was to him with mocking tenderness, he reflects human stupidity and the difficulty of existence. Despair pervades Uncle Vanya, but compassion illuminates it. Chekhov: the true artist always searching for truth and beauty.