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Have you ever laughed so hard you cried? Or cried so hard you started laughing? That’s what a Chekhov play can feel like. Let's look at why UNCLE VANYA might be relevant in 2024, at some big questions it asks, and why Chekhov called this play a comedy.
why now?
When Chekhov was writing UNCLE VANYA, his country faced extreme violence: a Czar was assassinated, an attempt to bring democracy to Russia failed, and vast inequalities between the rich and poor all led to the Russian Revolution. Despite this backdrop, Chekhov's characters are preoccupied with the day-to-day struggles of their family, careers, and the petty complaints that make up our daily lives.
There are striking parallels between 1890's Russia and our world today. And yet, like the characters in UNCLE VANYA, we continue to go about our daily lives; sometimes wondering if our efforts are worthwhile, especially when the chaos of our world feels overwhelming.
According to adapter/translator Heidi Schreck, UNCLE VANYA in the original Russian sounds like it could’ve been written a week ago. For instance, the play challenges us to take responsibility for our actions. It contrasts the negative example of characters who refuse to do this, with Astrov’s environmental activism. In the script, Chekhov names animals that are becoming extinct due to human impact. For Lincoln Center Theater's production, Schreck updated that list of animals to reflect ones that are becoming extinct right now.
REFLECT: Where do you see connections between this production, these characters’ lives, and our world in 2024?
IMAGE: JAMES TISSOT FOR VANITY FAIR: ALEXANDER II, EMPEROR OF RUSSIA, OCTOBER 16, 1869
a play that asks big questions
Have you ever heard of YOLO, or “you only live once”?
In a way, YOLO is the subtext of Chekhov's plays; it both haunts and inspires his characters. Chekhov was constantly confronted with death through his work as a doctor, and perhaps that made him appreciate the value of life more deeply.
In the play, Uncle Vanya says: “I now have lived more of my life, than I am going to get to live.” As a middle-aged man, life's big questions feel especially urgent to him. All of the characters in UNCLE VANYA confront questions like, "How am I spending my time? Is my life meaningful? What do I value? What does the world value? How do we live knowing that there's suffering all around us? How do we deal with our own suffering? How do we confront the fact that we all have to die one day?"
UNCLE VANYA is an ensemble play. Everyone will identify with different characters and have different reactions to the story. Schreck describes Chekhov's deep compassion for his characters, "He sees people fully, he doesn't sentimentalize them, or think they are better than we are, and yet he has great compassion for humans."
REFLECT: Which characters in UNCLE VANYA do you identify with? How do your values contrast or align with the values of your world or community?
this is a comedy?!
Do we struggle like Chekhov’s characters? Can we see things from their point of view?
Empathy might save our world. And yet, we still struggle to do it. Not being able to see what’s right in front of you is absurd. Seeing it and not being able to take meaningful action is even more absurd. So is getting in your own way and obsessing about the wrong things. But what if we're still lovable in spite of our absurdity? What if there's painful humor in our contradictions?
When the play begins, Vanya is disillusioned and feels like there's no future for him, or anyone. Astrov numbs himself with work and alcohol to try to feel less. Mama still believes the world can be better through the efforts of intellectual role models like the professor. The professor seems more concerned with his social status now that he's retired. Sonya is in love with Astrov, but is too afraid to tell him. Yelena stays with a husband whom she no longer loves. What is the journey these characters go on?
What has changed for the characters in UNCLE VANYA at the end of the play? Schreck says that for her, "What has changed is that everything that has been unspoken has now been spoken: 'It’s hopeless; I think I wasted my life; I don’t know what I’m doing; and I’m afraid of dying.' Now that all that has been said, they’re going to keep going. There’s something about the journey of the play, moving from denial to reckoning with the truth that feels hopeful to me."
Rather than thinking of the play as a comedy or a tragedy, maybe it's helpful to allow these labels to coexist, like in real life. The famous Russian director and acting teacher Stanislavsky said, “[The characters in Chekhov's plays] want to live life to its fullest. It is their struggle in the face of insurmountable obstacles in life that is both comedic and tragic at the same time."
REFLECT: Have you ever encountered a situation that made you want to laugh and cry at the same time?
SCENE FROM UNCLE VANYA, ACT I, MOSCOW ART THEATER, 1899 DIRECTED BY KONSTANTIN STANISLAVKI