"Uncle Vanya" is one of Russian writer Anton Chekhov's most celebrated plays and is considered by literary critics as one of the finest works of drama ever written.

Chekhov's follow-up play to "The Seagull" (which had enjoyed a successful run the previous year), "Uncle Vanya" was first produced by the famed Russian director Konstantin Stanislavski at the Moscow Arts Theatre in 1897.

"Uncle Vanya" is set at the sprawling estate of Professor Serebryakov, who inherited the property after the death of his first wife. While the professor enjoys a life of high-living in Moscow, Vanya (his brother-in-law) and Sonya (his daughter from his first marriage), manage the estate, sending most of the proceeds to the professor while they live a life of drudgery and routine. When the professor arrives with a beautiful, young wife and announces his plans to sell the estate and live off the proceeds, the stage is set for a confrontation between the estate's caretakers and the professor, the future of the estate and all of its inhabitants in the balance.

Hailed as one of the greatest works of the period when it first premiered, "Uncle Vanya" is numbered among Chekhov's four outstanding works for the theatre, which also includes "The Sea Gull," "The Three Sisters" and "The Cherry Orchard."