Uncle Vanya

Scenes from Country Life in Four Acts

A Tragicomedy

First published in 1897. First performed in 1899 in Moscow in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski.

This play portrays the visit of an elderly professor and his glamorous, much younger second wife, Yel**, to the rural estate that supports their urban lifestyle. Two friends, Vanya, brother of the Professor's late first wife, who has long managed the estate, and Astrov, the local Doctor, both fall under Yelena's spell, while bemoaning the ennui of their provincial existence. Sonya, the Professor's daughter by his first wife, who has worked with Vanya to keep the estate going, meanwhile suffers from the awareness of her own lack of beauty and from her unrequited feelings for Dr. Astrov. Matters are brought to a crisis when the Professor announces his intention to sell the estate, Vanya and Sonya's home and raison d'***, with a view to investing the proceeds to achieve a higher income for himself and his wife.