Maly Drama Theater of St Petersburg: Chekhov's Uncle Vanya March 27, 2010

The legendary Maly Drama Theater of St. Petersburg, which Peter Brook has described as "the finest ensemble theater in Europe," presents Anton Chekhov's classic play. With costumes inspired by the very first production of 'Uncle Vanya' by the Moscow Arts Theatre in 1899, the Maly Drama Theater of St. Petersburg captures the very essence of Chekhov, born 150 years ago in 1860. Chekhov's tragicomic masterpiece of dashed dreams, thwarted love, and eternal longing begins as Professor Serebryakov and his young wife, Elena, arrive at the family's remote country estate that has been looked after by Sonya (the Professor's daughter from his first marriage) and her Uncle Vanya, the Professor's brother-in-law. Vanya has sacrificed his life managing the estate for the Professor, whom he once revered, but is now filled with regret for lost time, a pain made worse by the arousing presence of Elena. An acutely observed study of humanity, Uncle Vanya remains a classic of Russian theater, a play of tragic and tangled love combining comic scenes of the everyday with a scathing attack on the idle provincial life of the upper classes. Performed in Russian with projected English translations.