Leaning into Uncle Vanya’s bleakness: a sumptuous play, with a deeply modern feel

Pia Johnson/MTC Uncle Vanya is Anton Chekhov’s classic tale of the flawed lives of educated, wealthy Russian elites. First performed in 1899 and set in the time of slow decline of the old rural estate class, the play revolves around the characters of a loosely related family. Now, playwright Joanna Murray-Smith has produced a sterling adaptation, stripping back the historical language to contemporise and bring it into the 21st century. Under director Anne-Louise Sarks, this new production is a…