Playbill
Andrew Gans
July 27, 2011

Tickets are now on sale for the Sydney Theatre Company's upcoming production of Uncle Vanya, which will play the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Eisenhower Theater Aug. 4-27 starring Cate Blanchett.

Directed by renowned Chekhov interpreter Tamás Ascher, the cast also features John Bell, Sandy Gore, Hayley McElhinney, Anthony Phelan, Richard Roxburgh, Andrew Tighe, Jacki Weaver and Hugo Weaving.

This adaptation of the Chekhov classic was penned by Andrew Upton.

"On a dilapidated, remote farm Uncle Vanya (Richard Roxburgh) and his niece Sonya (Hayley McElhinney) have worked slavishly for years to sustain an estate in decline. Now Professor Serebryakov (John Bell) and his wife Yelena (Cate Blanchett) have returned to visit, bringing with them chaos and disruption," according to press notes. "Constant visits from the charismatic Astrov (Hugo Weaving) are not helpful. Lunch is no longer served at lunch time--now it is procrastinated until dusk--work is forgotten and the long, cool nights have become sleepless. From this hotbed of disarray grow three consuming love affairs, each of which is destined to wither in disappointment before it has reached bloom. It is in this climate of frustration and thwarted hopes that the Professor chooses to announce a shocking plan."

Tickets, priced at $59-$135, are available by visiting www.kennedy-center.org.